LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

Shelf .....ii.^'^ 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



CHARACTERISTICS 



TRUE DEVOTION 



BY THE AUTHOR OF 

"Hidden Life of the Soul," "Spiritual 
Maxims," etc. 



^ranslatetr from tfje jFre^cfy ^^Jpyhiuht: 



^^^^f^j^ 



NEW YORK' 
THOMAS WHITTA 

2 AND 3 BIBLE HOUSE 

1883 




JAN 9 1885 ; 




WASH\^' 




<i 



Copyright, 1882, 
By THOMAS WHITTAKER. 



JTranklin ^ress: 

RAND, AVERY, AND COMPANY, 
BOSTON, 



PREFACE. 






HOSE who are familiar with "The Hid- 
den Life of the Soul," " The Science of 
■ ^j^^ Cross," and "The Spiritual Max'- 

^ ims," will gladly hail another work by the same 

author. 

" The Spiritual Maxims," recently pubHshed 
in London, were written as a continuation or 
supplement to this work, the " Characteristics 
of True Devotion ; " and in the closing chapter 
the author speaks of his purpose and intention 
of writing it. 

This is so eminently practical, and so per- 
fectly adapted to all classes of Christians, it is 
hoped it will meet with the hearty approval its 
great merit deserves. For daily devotional 
reading it is very earnest and searching, and 
cannot far! to enrich and stimulate those who 
are endeavoring to lead a higher spiritual life. 

5 



4 Preface, 

In all Pere Grou's writings there is a remark- 
able simplicity and directness ; and they are so 
saturated with the mind and heart of Christ 
that no one can read them without feeling that 
the Christian life is a very real and a very great 
thing, and by no means an easy thing, and 
that love and humility are its foundation-stones. 

In these religious works there is m the 
French a certam mtensity of expression which 
is necessarily lost m the translation ; but the 
translator of this little work has faithfully 
sought to catch the spirit of the author, and to 
reproduce it as closeiy as was possible in the 
cooler English tongue. A few passages, which 
seemed only adapted to fTie religious, and in no 
way suited to the secular, she has taken the 
liberty to omit. Trusting that her humble labor 
may be blessed, and that this little book may be 
the means of leading many souls up to a truer 
and higher devotion, she commends it to all 
earnest Christian readers. 

ELLEN M. FOGG. 

New York City, 

Easter, 1882. 



CONTENTS. 



I. Preliminary Advice 7 

II. What is True Devotion? . . . ii 

III. What we devote to God. The Motives 

OF OUR Devotion 14 

IV. All Other Devotion should be Subor- 

dinate to that which we owe to God, 18 
V. The First Object of our Devotion 

SHOULD BE the GLORY OF GOD, AND 

the Accomplishment of his Will . 20 
VI. The Second Object of Man's Devotion 

SHOULD be his OWN SaNCTIFICATION. 

The Reasons why he should seek it, 23 
VII. Third Object of our Devotion. Our 

Happiness 26 

VIII. Qualities of True Devotion to God. 

The Spirit of Prayer . . . .30 
IX. Devotion, to be True, should be In- 
terior 34 

5 



Contents. 



CHAPTER PAGE 

X. Devotion must be manifested in Ex- 
ternal Actions. Reasons which 

PROVE this True 39 

XI. The Error of those who exclude 

Mental Prayer from Devotion . 43 
XII. It is Necessary to give one's self up 
to God without Restriction and 
without Reserve . . . .49 

XIII. True Devotion requires an Undi- 

vided Heart 55 

XIV. Devotion is for Persons of Every 

Age (y}^ 

XV. Devotion extends to All Conditions, 68 
XVI. Love is the only Foundation of De- 
votion 73 

xvii. to be truly devoted, one must for- 
GET his Own Interests, and seek 

God only ^j^ 

XVIII. Fatal Effects of Self-Love upon 

Devotion 81 

XIX. Devotion inspires Confidence. Ne- 
cessity OF This Confidence, and its 

Good Effects 85 

XX. Devotion produces Self - Knowl- 
edge, and consequently Humil- 
ity 90 



Contents, 



93 



lOI 

107 
III 

116 



CHAPTER PAGE \ 

XXI. Simplicity and the Fear of Obser- 
vation ARE THE Characteristics 
OF True Devotion : How few pos- 
sess THEM 

XXII. Mortification of the Senses is 
Another Quality of Devotion . 

XXIII. Mortification of the Will Essen- 

tial TO Devotion .... 

XXIV. Various Qualities of Devotion . 
XXV. Other Qualities of Devotion 

XXVI. Devotion corrects and perfects 
THE Character .... 
XXVII. Devotion, instead of repressing 
THE Spirit, serves rather to de- 
velop it 120 

XXVIII. Devotion elevates the Heart of 
Man above Every Thing which 
IS NOT OF God 128 

XXIX. True Devotion regards Every 
Thing in Relation to Eternity 
AND to the Will of God . . 133 
XXX. Conduct of the Truly Devoted 

with Regard to his Neighbor . 138 

XXXI. The Difference between the Po- 
liteness OF THE World and the 
Cordiality of True Devotion . 146 



Contents. 



CHAPTER PAGE 

XXXI 1. The Truly Devoted possess all 

Civil Qualities . . . .151 

XXXIII. The truly Devoted Man possesses 

THE ONLY True Happiness that 
one can experience on Earth . 154 

XXXIV. Jesus Christ the Great Model of 

Perfect Devotion .... 159 
XXXV. Three Effectual Means to ac- 
quire True Devotion . . . 164 
XXXVI. Reflections upon the Character- 
istics OF True Devotion . . 170 



CHARACTERISTICS OF TRUE 
DEVOTION. 



CHAPTER I. 

^relimmarg ^tibice. 



OTWITHSTANDING the general cold- 
ness of piety, there are many people 
who profess much devotion. Few, however, 
have any true idea of it. The majority fol- 
low their own prejudices with regard to it, or 
their imagination, or their inclination, or their 
self-love. Hence arise those innumerable 
faults to which the devout of both sexes, of 
every age, of every condition and every 
state, are subject. These faults are not, in- 
deed, such as to endanger salvation ; but 

9 



lo Characteristics of True Devotion, 

they hinder perfection, and place obstacles in 
the way of holiness. To the worldly they 
become an occasion of ridicule and blas- 
phemy ; to the weak, a subject of scandal; 
to ordinary Christians, a pretext which en- 
courages them in carelessness, and deters 
them from embracing the devout Hfe. How 
important, then, for pious souls, awake to the 
glory of God and their own interests, to con- 
ceive, according to the gospel, a correct 
idea of devotion, and to express it in their 
conduct ! 

I propose to draw for them a faithful pic- 
ture of devotion in this httle work. I invite 
them to observe all its features with an atten- 
tive eye, and then to cast a look upon them- 
selves. Self-love is so blind, the human will 
so weak, that I dare not hope they will draw 
from this comparison all the advantage that 
should properly result from it. Either they 
do not see themselves just as they are, or a 



Preliminary Advice, ii 

nature, takes away from many the courage 
and even the desire to reform ; or perhaps 
they find the model too perfect, and, in de- 
spair of attaining to it, they do not even try 
to approach it. However it may be, I shall 
esteem myself too happy if even a very few 
profit by these instructions. Besides, I am 
not writing for devout people only. Many 
Christians hesitate to enter upon the religious 
life, and an open profession of such piety as 
involves entire self-renunciation. This writing 
may perhaps be the means which God will 
employ to lead them and establish them 
irrevocably in the better way. Every day 
some sinners return to God. They have 
hitherto been ignorant of his service ; and 
they will now be glad to be instructed by a 
little book, the reading of which will require 
but a few hours. Finally, the young, who are 
beginning to consecrate themselves to God, 
long habit, become almost a part of their 



12 Characte7'istics of True Devotion, 

need to be enlightened, and to learn the true 
way which leads to him. As they have no 
prejudices to combat, nor bad habits to cor- 
rect, it will be sufficient to point out to them 
the way, that they may enter upon it, and 
thus be preserved from all the irregularities 
and all the imperfections of a devotion mis- 
apprehended. It is to them that I especially 
recommend the reading of this book. Those 
who have charge of their education may put 
it into their hands when they consider them 
able to understand and to profit by it ; that is, 
at an age when mind and heart are sufficiently 
developed. Earlier than that I do not think 
it would be well to let them read it. The 
first impression is always the most important 
for the good or evil effect of a work of piety ; 
for, if it fail then, one rarely returns to it later. 
Therefore it is better to wait till the young 
mind is so matured as to receive a deep and 
lasting impression. 



What is True Devotion? 13 

CHAPTER II. 

OTfjat IS Crue IBeijotion? 

JIHAT is devotion? Each one defines 
it in his own way. For a worldling, it 
is to believe in God, and to have some reli- 
gious principle. For a saint, it is to be ab- 
sorbed and lost in God. Between these two 
extremes there is an almost infinite number 
of degrees, more or less just according as 
they are near to the one, or removed fi-om 
the other. If we would define it exactly, let 
us look at the word itself. It is derived from 
the Latin, and means a vowing or consecra- 
tion, — in short a giving up. For a person to 
be devoted, then, is the same thing as to be 
given up, or vowed, or consecrated to God. 
It is upon this idea which the term " devotion '* 



14 Characteristics of True Devotion. 

presents to the mind that I shall establish all 
I have to say upon the subject I have under- 
taken to treat, premising that, so far as devo- 
tion relates to us and to our duty to God, it 
must be taken in its broadest and most seri- 
ous sense. We have no stronger word in our 
language than that of "devotion" to mark 
intimate attachment, absolute and voluntary 
dependence, affectionate zeal, — in short, a 
disposition to submit one's self wholly to the 
will of another, to anticipate his desires, to 
study his interests, and to sacrifice all for him. 
It is thus one speaks of a child, a servant, or 
a subject, who is devoted to his father, his 
master, or his king. We say, also, that a man 
is devoted to ambition, or to some other pas- 
sion, when he thinks of nothing but to satisfy 
it, and seeks every means to that end ; when he 
^ives to it all his thoughts, and is so absorbed 
>.) jt that he can hardly occupy himself with 
--oy other object. Devotion to God comprises 



What is True Devotion ? 15 

all this in the highest degree ; and it is, over 
and above this, a consecration, by virtue of 
which the person consecrated is no longer his 
, own, — has no right over himself ; but belongs, 
by an act of religion the most holy and irrevo- 
cable, to the Supreme Being. The practice 
of devotion has, I admit, its beginning, its 
progress, and its perfection ; but the act of 
devotion must be full, entire, and perfect in 
the will at the moment it is formed. Without 
proceeding further, and upon this simple defi- 
nition, one can already judge how rare devo- 
tion is among Christians, and whether one is 
one's self devoted. 



1 6 Characteristics of True Devotion. 



CHAPTER III. 

OTfjat bie tiebote to (iotr. Cfje ifflotibcs cf our 
3IBeij0tton» 

i|HE devotion which we owe to God is 
an entire and complete self-surrender. 
It is founded upon the titles which belong only 
to him, and which he cannot share with any 
created being. God is our beginning and 
our end. He has created us, and he pre- 
serves us every moment. We owe to him 
every thing we possess, both physical and 
mental : the heavens, the earth, and all we 
enjoy are the works of his hands, and the 
gifts of his beneficence. He disposes all 
events according to his will, and his Provi- 
dence has no other end in its designs and 
arrangements than our good. He has 



What we devote to God. 17 

created us to know him, to love him, to 
serve him, and thereby to merit the posses- 
sion of him eternally. Enriched as we were 
in the beginning with every blessing of nature 
and of grace, a lasting felicity was attached 
for us to the observance of a very simple, 
just, and easy command. But, fallen as we are 
from that supernatural state by the disobe- 
dience of our first parents, God has re-estab- 
lished us in it by a wonderful device of his 
love ; giving us his own Son, and laying upon 
him our sins, that through Jesus Christ he 
might restore to us his grace. To the general 
blessing of redemption he -joins particular 
blessings, — a rebirth by baptism into the 
bosom of the Catholic Church, a good 
Christian education, many graces of preser- 
vation, many sins pardoned, many tender 
reproaches, and secret invitations to return 
to him, — in short, many tokens of special 
kindness. God is our sovereign good, — to 



1 8 Characteristics of Tri/e Devotion. 

speak justly, our only good. As we have 
received every thing from him, we also ex- 
pect every thing from him, and can be happy 
only through him. He is our King, our Law- 
giver, our Benefactor, the Supreme Arbiter 
of our destiny. Add to this what he is in 
himself, the eternity and infinity of his being, 
and his perfections. Above all this, consider 
what he is in the person of Jesus Christ. 
Stop now a moment ; reflect upon each one 
of these points which I have only alluded to ; 
think of it in all its force ; estimate it in all 
its value ; appreciate the duties and the 
affections it demands of you, and the obliga- 
tions it imposes upon you. After having 
considered each separately, combine them, 
and conceive, if you can, the immense extent 
of their united claims upon you. Measure 
the capacity of your heart ; see, if even it 
should exhaust itself in respect, in love, in 
gratitude, in submission, it could ever acquit 



What we devote to God, 19 

itself of its obligations to God. Judge if 
your devotion, how far soever you may be 
able to carry it, will ever be proportioned to 
these many and great requirements. 




20 Characteristics of True Devotion. 



CHAPTER IV. 

^11 ^tfjcr ©cbotiott sf}oultJ be ^xibcrtifnatc to tfjat 
Wjiclj iMe objc to (§oti, 

jjHAT all other duties, even the most 
_ legitimate, cannot enter into com- 
parison with this, is obvious. Moreover, 
every affection which may be opposed to 
it, which may give it the slightest injury, 
which will not be entirely subordinated to 
it, is an evil which God must necessarily 
condemn and punish. The homage, the 
respect, the love, the obedience, which we 
render to any creature whatsoever, are just, 
and approved of God, only as he com- 
mands and authorizes them ; only as they 
are held within the limits he has prescribed ; 
only as they are related to him, and are the 



All Other Devotion Subordinate, 21 

expression of the supreme homage, the in- 
finite respect, the unbounded love, the im- 
pUcit obedience, which are due to him alone. 
The true Christian should know only one 
single devotion, of which all others are but 
the extension and the appHcation; namely, 
that which belongs to God. He should con- 
secrate to him his mind, his heart, his body : 
he should breathe, he should think, and he 
should act, only for him. God is the prin- 
ciple, the motive, and the end of all the 
duties he fulfils to all his fellow-beings. 



2 2 Characteristics of True Devotion, 



CHAPTER V. 

^fje JFirst ©bjcct of our IBcbotion sfjoulti be tfje 
aiorg of 6oti, anti tfje ^ccomplisljmcnt of his 

|HE first and great object of devotion 
or piety is the glory of God, and the 
accompHshment of his will. God has not 
proposed to himself any other end in all his 
works, and he does not permit the Christian 
to do so; rather, he positively forbids him 
to substitute any other. We exist only to 
glorify God, and we glorify him only by 
loving him and obeying him. This glory 
of God should hold the first place in our 
thoughts and in our desires : it should be the 
great motive of all our actions. Every other 
intention, however good, however holy. 




The First Object of Devotion. 23 

should only occupy the second place in our 
hearts. It is this which Jesus Christ teaches 
us in the prayer he has given us. The first 
petitions which compose it relate only to 
God and the interests of his glory. Our 
Father who a7^t in heaven, hallowed be thy 
name : let all reasonable beings praise thee, 
adore thee, and strive to imitate thy hohness ; 
let them follow thee, endeavoring to be holy 
because thou art holy, and perfect as thou 
art perfect ; and thus may thy name be hal- 
lowed in them and by them. Thy kingdom 
co77ie : let all acknowledge thee their only 
Sovereign ; let them establish thee the 
absolute Master of their hearts, and im- 
plore thee to exercise supreme dominion 
over them. Thy will be done on earth as it 
is in heaven. Saints and angels know no 
other law than thy will : it is the principle of 
the order, the peace, and the love which reign 
among them ; and it is all their happiness to 



24 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

fulfil it. Let it be the same here below 
among men : let them use their liberty, not 
only in submitting to thy laws, but also in 
yielding to thy good pleasure, and to the dis- 
pensations of thy divine providence. Such 
should be the most sincere and the most 
earnest vows of true devotion. Are they 
ours ? Are our lips and our heart united in 
offering them daily? Do our motives and 
our actions correspond to the fervor of our 
prayer ? 



The Second Object of Devotion, 25 



CHAPTER VI. 

(ITfje ^ecottti Object of iIHan*s IBebotion sfjoulti be 
fjis obn ^anctification* Efje i^casons irif)2 ije 
sfjoulti seek it, 

HE second object of true devotion is 
man's own sanctification. He should 
desire it effectually, not as an embellishment 
and the perfection of his soul, but as some- 
thing which God has commanded ; which is 
agreeable to him, and which contributes to 
his glory. He should not strive to acquire 
virtues merely to please himself in them, but 
to please God. Indeed, he should not even 
consider whether their acquisition be pleasing 
to himself or not; but he should act with 
honesty and simplicity, without seeking to 
bear witness to himself of the goodness of his 



2 6 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

actions. Furthermore, he should carefully 
avoid all sin and all imperfection, not me^rely 
because it would be a pollution and deformity 
of his soul, but because it is an offence to 
God; a disorder which wounds his infinite 
sanctity and purity ; an object which is odi- 
ous to him, and which provokes his indigna- 
tion. And, while the devoted Christian is 
sorry toward God for any fault he has com- 
mitted, he should at the same time be glad 
of the feeling of shame and humiliation it has 
produced in himself. He should aspire to 
holiness, not to possess it and appropriate it 
as his own, but to offer it in homage to God ; 
to render to God all the glory of it, because 
he is its only source. He should desire to be 
holy, not according to his own way or his own 
idea, but according to the way and the idea 
of God. He must not forget that his sanctifi- 
cation is much more the work of God than of 
himself; that, even if he should labor to attain 



The Second Object of Devotion, 27 

it by himself, he would only spoil the work. 
The work of sanctification belongs to God 
to begin, to continue, and to finish. It must 
be left to him to accomplish this great work. 
Man should place no obstacle in the way, but 
should second God's sanctifying work by his 
consent and co-operation. In short, he should 
not aim at a subhme sanctity by a false eleva- 
tion of sentiment, or by a jealous emulation 
of certain privileged souls ; but he should wish 
only to fulfil the measure of hoHness to which 
God calls him ; to correspond with the grace 
he has received, and to be faithful according 
to his ability; content with having received 
only one talent, provided he may double it, 
as if he had received either five or ten tal- 
ents. 



28 Characteristics of Ti^ue Devotion, 

CHAPTER VII. 

^Efjirti Object of our IBrbatton. ©ur |§appincss. 

BTSIHE third object of our devotion, that 
^^1 which interests us the most, is our hap- 
piness. It is inseparably attached to our de- 
votion to God. To be happy is to be united 
to a sovereign Good, and devotion begins 
this union here in time to consummate it in 
eternity. Our happiness is an essential result 
of our sanctification ; because it is a fixed 
principle, that whatever tends to make us 
better tends also to make us happier. Per- 
fection and happiness are linked together as 
cause and effect. This is true, even with re- 
gard to God ; for in him felicity is not so much 
a perfection, as the result of all his infinite 
perfections. It is, then, unquestionably true, 



The Third Object of Devotion, 29 

that devotion, rightly understood and rightly 
practised, is the source, and the only source, 
of solid happiness that man can taste on 
earth. But this passing happiness is only a 
shadow when we compare it with the eternal 
beatitude promised by God to those who have 
been devoted to him. God, in thinking of 
his own glory, has not neglected our inter- 
ests, but has made the two a mutual depend- 
ence : so that in our submission to his will 
we might find all the advantages of both 
the present and the future life. If devotion 
does not produce this effect, it is not to itself 
that we must attribute the fault, but to those 
who misconceive and misapply it. Thus, in 
the infinitely just and infinitely simple idea 
of the Divine Mind, the other two objects, 
namely, our sanctification and our happiness, 
are reduced to the first, — that is to say, to 
God's glory, — and are blended with it. 
Where God sees the rendering of glory which 



30 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

he expects from us in all our thoughts, words, 
and deeds, there he sees our sanctity and our 
happiness. It is for this reason that the truly 
devout man regards his own sanctification as 
only a means of glorifying God, and his hap- 
piness as enshrined within that glory of which 
it is the consequence. Thus he makes the 
glory of God his principal object, and the 
great end of his actions, assured that, even 
without thinking of it especially, he will be- 
come holy and happy in proportion as he 
promotes God's glory. He does not exclude 
the other two objects. God forbid ! He 
thinks of them often, but the first exceeds 
and overshadows both the others. It is not 
thus with the ordinary devout man. The 
object to which he gives the preference and 
his greatest attention is his own salvation. 
He has only this thought in his mind; he 
does that which he deems proper to assure 
it j he avoids that which he fears may endan- 



The Thh'd Object of Devotion, 31 

ger it. Behold the measure, then, of his hoH- 
ness : it rises httle above mere self-love. As 
to the glory of God, it is seldom that he acts 
directly for that end j although he would wil- 
lingly allow nothing in himself that might be 
opposed to it. But regard to his own inter- 
est, which he considers above every thing, 
leads him to reverse the order of these three 
objects, which God has given. From thence 
spring all the defects of his devotion. 



32 Characteristics of True Devotion, 



CHAPTER VIII. 

©ualitifs of ^ruc HBcbotton to (^oti. ^fje 
spirit of iPragtr. 

pE now come to the detail of those 
qualities which characterize devotion 
to God. Nobody is ignorant that devotion 
is supernatural : under which aspect let us 
regard it ; supernatural in its object, which is 
God, known, not by reason simply, but by 
faith ; supernatural in its motives, in its means, 
in its end ; supernatural in that it is impos- 
sible for man to conceive the idea of it by 
his own intelligence, to embrace it by his 
own will, or to put it in practice by his own 
strength ; supernatural in that it favors nothing 
in our corrupt nature, but combats it, and 
proposes to reform it. We can only be 



Qualities of True Devotion to God, 't^t^ 

drawn to devotion by the influence of grace, 
which enhghtens the mind, solicits the will, 
and fortifies the spirit ; and we can only be 
sustained to make progress therein, and attain 
to perfection, by the help of grace. As, with 
the exception of certain prevenient and sac- 
ramental graces which ever assist the soul, 
God grants others only through the medium 
of prayer, it follows, that the first thing that 
inspires devotion is an attraction for prayer ; 
or, rather, it is itself that spirit of grace and 
prayer which God has promised by his 
prophet to pour out upon his people. 

It is a spirit of prayer ; that is, a disposition, 
an habitual tendency, of the soul to rise up 
towards God, and to unite itself with him, 
adoring his supreme majesty, thanking him 
for his mercies, asking pardon of its sins, 
and imploring him to vouchsafe the spiritual 
help necessary to its weakness. It is a spirit 
of grace, because this disposition and this 



34 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

tendency are the effects of grace. I say an 
habitual tendency, which subsists ahvays in 
the depth of the will, which holds it always 
turned towards God, and which, according 
to the occasion and the need, is manifested 
by distinct and formal acts, proffered by the 
lips or the heart. These acts cannot be 
constant : but the interior affection, which 
produces and animates them, can and ought 
to be ; and this is that habitual elevation of 
soul which is inculcated in the precept of 
Christ, that " men ought always to pray and 
not to faint." If you have this spirit of 
prayer, O Christian soul ! you have true devo- 
tion ; but you do not yet possess it if you are 
led to prayer only by duty and necessity, and 
not by love and desire. You do not possess 
it if this exercise is painful to you ; if it 
costs you a great effort ; if you are careless, 
lukewarm, willingly distracted, or subject to 
ennui; if you count the moments; if you 



Qualities of True Devotion to God, 35 

shorten them more than you ought j in brief, 
if you pay God as a bad debtor pays his debt. 
In this way, from habit, from routine, from 
human respect, because the rule or the state of 
life demands it, one may make many prayers 
without having the .spirit of prayer; and 
nothing is more common. 



36 Characteristics of True Devotion. 

CHAPTER IX. 

JBebotion, to be €rue, sftoulU be Interior* 

ira^IHE spirit of prayer is evidently an 
ImI.^I interior spirit, since it is a spirit of 
grace ; the " Spirit which makes intercession 
for us with groanings which cannot be ut- 
tered;" the spirit of the Son which God 
sends into our hearts, crying, ''Abba, 
Father ; " that fihal affection which is as a 
continual yearning of the heart towards God 
our Father. This divine spirit dwells in the 
inmost recesses of the soul, deeper than all 
human affection ; and it is upon the noblest 
faculties, upon the intelligence, the will, the 
affections, that it displays its power. True 
devotion is then essentially interior, and it 
inspires pure thought and pure feeling. From 



Devotion should he Interior, 37 

within it diffuses itself without, around, and 
gives Hfe to all external works of piety. 
What, indeed, would be a devotion that was 
purely exterior, that was expressed only in 
words and vain protestations, or in actions 
which had no spring in the heart? This 
would be only a semblance of devotion, which 
might deceive man, who judges only accord- 
ing to appearances, but which could not 
impose upon God, whose eye penetrates the 
soul. Provided one renders useful service, 
men seldom question the good will of him 
who serves. But what need has God of our 
homage ? He desires it only so far as it may 
glorify him ; and this it cannot do unless it 
be sincere, springing from the heart. Again, 
devotion is interior in that it withdraws the 
soul from all exterior objects which distract 
it ; recalls it to itself, concentrates it upon 
God, and helps it to • reahze his presence 
within him. It teaches him recollection ; 



38 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

teaches him to regulate his imagination, to 
restrain vain thoughts, to subdue excitement, 
and to fix his wandering desires, to gather all 
his forces to hold himself united with Him to 
whom he is devoted. By this interior union 
with God, the soul hallows, not only its vocal 
and mental prayers, not only the practice of 
its devotion and good works, but also the 
actions of his physical nature, such as eating, 
drinking, and sleeping, and those which seem 
the most indifferent conversation and innocent 
recreations, all of which are made to redound 
to the glory of God, according to the counsel 
of the apostle (i Cor. x. 31). Devotion 
gives to the Christian an experimental knowl- 
edge of that word of Christ, '' The kingdom 
of God is within you," — that word of which 
none but the truly devout can comprehend 
the meaning. God exercises this dominion 
within by the operation of his grace, which 
renders the soul attentive to his voice, by 



Devotion should be Interior, 39 

which he ever indicates his will ; and as this 
voice has an infinite delicacy, and cannot be 
heard in the distraction, the tumult, and the 
excitement of the passions, the soul that in 
some deep experience has once felt its power, 
and knows the advantage of rendering itself 
perfectly docile, studies to keep itself in rec- 
ollection, in calmness, in a certain interior 
solitude, and in close attention, that it may 
not lose any of the instructions or warnings 
God may give. It is thus that a servant 
devoted to his master is always ready to do his 
will ; does not allow himself to be distracted 
by the cares of others ; hstens to all his words, 
endeavors to understand them ; observes his 
looks, his gestures, and the least indication 
of his wishes. This attention ought so far as 
possible to be continual, because the action 
of grace is continual. It is a cord which 
leads him, which he must always hold in his 
hand, and which he cannot drop for a 



w 



40 Characteristics of True Devhtion. 



^ 



moment witha!!Woing astray. Thus, when 
one has given one's self entirely to God, his 
interior admonitions are constant, and are 
very sensibly felt, until one has acquired the 
habit of acting in every thing by the spirit 
of grace. Then, this spirit having become 
famihar and natural, one follows it without 
being conscious of it ; but its influence over 
the whole life is only the greater. It may be 
objected that so strong and so sustained an 
effort would be wearisome. I reply, that, if it 
be in any way painful, love softens it ; and 
habit renders easy that which costs much in 
the beginning. 



Devotion in External Actions, 41 



CHAPTER X. 

JBebotion must ht manifestcti in lEiternal "Ectiotts* 
i^easans ijjf}icf) probe tijis Erue. 

IWg^lT would be a very great delusion to 
l^^l believe that devotion is only interior, 
and, under the pretext that God looks within, 
to suppress vocal prayer, and all other ex- 
terior demonstrations. We are men, not pure 
spirits. It is proper that the body should 
take part in the homage of the soul, and 
that our principal organs should be employed 
in the praise of God. It is for this we have 
received them, and it is the most noble use 
we can make of them. It is necessary that 
every human being should adore and pray. 
Moreover, the soul needs to be awakened, and 
sustained in its piety, by that which appeals 



42 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

to the senses. The external accessories of 
worship, the order and majesty of cere- 
monies, the variations and harmony of music, 
pictures, and other pious objects, are aids to 
devotion. The humble disposition of the 
body, the bended knee, the folded hands, 
the eyes modestly lowered, or raised towards 
heaven, are expressions of reverence and 
attention in prayer ; and involuntarily the 
soul manifests its feeling by these external 
signs. Religion, being of the first importance, 
demands a common worship, therefore a 
public and external worship, in which we 
may offer to God the same vows and the 
same prayers, and may stimulate each other 
by singing his praise together. The divine 
institution of the ministry is an evident proof 
of the necessity of an external worship. 
There never was a truly devout person, even 
though living in solitude, who did not have 
some fixed time every day for vocal prayer. 



Devotion in External Actions, 43 

The interior spirit inspires it, even in those 
who apply themselves mostly to contempla- 
tion ; for if, in passing moments, the allure- 
inent of contemplation is so strong as to 
obhge them to suspend the vocal prayer, it 
is only to resume it as soon as the spirit is 
free again. Whether we pray in the house of 
God, or in private, we should not so abandon 
ourselves to mental prayer as to omit vocal 
prayer. The former could not sustain itself 
long without the latter, and would inevitably 
degenerate into a luxurious and dangerous 
dreaminess. It is difficult to acquire ease 
and freedom in vocal prayer unless it is 
joined to the practice of meditation, which 
nourishes the soul ; and meditation, too, will 
be barren and fruitless if not aided by vocal 
prayer. It frequently happens, that the soul, 
deeply penetrated with this spirit of prayer, 
cannot restrain its joy and its transports ; and 
it expresses them by words, by looks, by 



44 Characteristics of True Devotion. 

sighs, by tears, and by divers movements. 
This is only the result of the union of soul 
and body, and of their mutual correspond- 
ence. 



Mental Prayer, 45 



CHAPTER XI. 

^fje ^rror of tfjose bfjo eiclutie Ifflental ^rager 
from IBebotion. 

I Wgal F it is an abuse to exclude vocal 
|o.b3| prayer from devotion, it is a much 
more common fault to banish mental prayer. 
This may be excusable in coarse and ignorant 
people, who scarcely know the use of the 
spirit, and also in the very young, in whom 
the extreme lightness of the imagination 
requires to be fixed by something sensible. 
But is it pardonable for the mature and well 
instructed to pray only from a book? to 
persuade themselves that they are idle if they 
do not move their lips, and that God does 
not hear them unless they articulate their 
requests, often so loudly, too, as to disturb 



46 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

those who are praying beside them? The 
slightest act which the heart may make, or 
the sHghtest feehng which may flow from the 
heart, pleases God far more, and is far more 
profitable to the penitent, than long prayers 
said from a book, wMe the heart is cold and 
empty. Vainly do they say that such cold 
prayers, merely said from a book, stir and 
nourish their devotion. Possibly their ima- 
gination may be excited by the exalted and 
fine language of the written prayer; and if 
this leads to the stirring of the heart, well. 
But if not, if the heart remain unmoved, 
such will find that in a Httle time they weary 
of the same formula ; it soon makes no im- 
pression upon them : they utter it mechan- 
ically and .from memory; then they have 
recourse to others, of which also they become 
disgusted : and soon all methods are ex- 
hausted, and they are utterly at a loss what 
to do. Why not begin early the habit of 



Mental Prayer. 47 

recollection ; of searching, like David, in his 
heart, for the prayer he would make unto 
God (Ps. xix. 14) ; to complain of our cold- 
ness and insensibility, and implore him to 
enrich our spiritual poverty? Would it be 
praying wrongly, humbly to acknowledge 
before God one's own weakness, and to 
draw down grace from above by profound 
cries for mercy? and, if one should have 
occasionally some good thoughts, to attribute 
them gratefully to the Author of all good? 
When the source of devotion is in the heart, 
it is inexhaustible ; for the affections which 
spring from the heart are ever varied, and 
one finds in it ever new and fresh dehght. 
Studied discourse is not necessaiy for its 
utterance : it uses rather the simplest, the 
most natural, the most earnest, expressions. 
Even the silence of a heart touched and 
softened is more eloquent than words ; and 
in many instances the heart, has no other 



48 Characteristics of Ti^ue Devotion, 

resource than silence, to testify to God all it 
feels. 

In praying one must avoid idleness of 
heart. For idleness of heart at prayer is the 
mortal sin of sloth. If one speak of medita- 
tion to a person who thinks he has only to 
open his book and read his prayers formally, 
he will say, I cannot meditate : the slightest 
effort makes my brain reel. It must be ad- 
mitted, that meditation is painful to those 
who are not accustomed to reflect ; that a 
vivid imagination is required there, which few 
are capable of sustaining for a long time. If 
it is proposed to them to abandon the consid- 
erations when they are before God, and to 
pass on quickly to the affections, they reply 
that their will is not easily moved ; that, if 
they have any good impulse, it is quickly dis- 
sipated, and that is why they make use of 
books. If I tell them to hold themselves 
simply in repose, and to draw down upon 



Mental Prayer. 49 

them the dew of heaven by short and earnest 
acts, repeated from time to time, they do not 
hesitate to condemn this repose as idleness, 
and to declare their aversion to this kind 
of prayer ; which is, however, the prayer of 
spiritual souls. But spiritual they are not, 
though they beheve themselves to be so, and 
flatter themselves that they are devoted, be- 
cause they speak to God much and fre- 
quently, as they do to their equals ; and, 
instead of warming and quickening, they only 
dry up and wither, their souls. Let them say 
what they will, self-love presides over their 
prayers : they offer them to themselves, rather 
than to God. Their object is, to bear witness 
to themselves that they have prayed ; and 
they think they have palpable proof of it 
when they have recited a great many prayers. 
It is for the same reason that many speak 
aloud, that the ear also may serve as a 
witness. St. Anthony, who was doubtless 



50 Characteristics of Trtie Devotion, 

a very devout man, when interrogated as to 
the best manner of praying, repHed, "It 
is when one prays without being aware of 



Absolute Self -surrender, 51 



CHAPTER XII. 

E IS Neccssarg to gibe one's self up to ^oli iuitfj* 
out Restriction anti bitfjout i^eserbe. 



RUE devotion admits of no reserve. 
It consists in surrendering the soul 
entirely to grace, and in being resolved to fol- 
low wheresoever and to whatsoever it may- 
lead. This absolute surrender to grace calls 
upon us to remove every obstacle which may 
hinder its action as far as is possible, to follow 
it step by step with an exact fidelity, not to 
anticipate it, nor to rush into the excesses of 
an indiscreet fervor. One is subject to this 
latter fault in the first transports of a deep- 
ening love. Many saints are reproached for 
it, especially St. Bernard, who soon ruined his 
stomach by excessive abstinence. Such ex- 



52 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

cess is a temptation of the Devil, who tries, 
when we first enter upon this devout Hfe, to 
exhaust our strength, that we may be pre- 
vented from persevering, or may be induced 
to relapse. We shall be in no danger of fall- 
ing, if in regard to fasting, vigils, and all re- 
ligious exercises, we seek wise counsel and 
follow it. To compromise with God, to be 
willing to put no restraint upon one's self 
beyond a certain point, to prescribe the Hmit 
of one's spiritual course, and to be deter- 
mined not to pass it, is not to devote one's 
self to God, but to give him only a par- 
tial and limited service. In our devotion 
to man, there must always be some resene ; 
since the rights of God, at least, should 
always be excepted. But God being infi- 
nitely superior to all, and nothing being able 
to limit the exercise of his dominion over his 
creatures, his service is susceptible of no 
reser\'e ; and whoever embraces it must do so 



Absolute Self-surrender. 53 

without exception and without condition. 
To devote one's self to him is to determine 
to know no other law than his supreme will, 
and to conform to that at whatever sacrifice. 
One must not consider his own weakness, 
and say, I never could do this or that, even 
though grace should require it of me. The 
will of God renders possible all which it com- 
mands, because it always joins to the com- 
mand the means of accompHshing it. God 
would be unjust if, when demanding some- 
thing of us, he should not give us sufficient 
strength to perform it. You read of certain 
heroic traits in the Hfe of the saints ; yet, 
while admiring them, you refuse to imitate 
them. But how do you know that God does 
not demand the same things of you? And, 
if he demands them, why should you not be 
able by his grace to do that which others 
have done ? Be not dismayed, however : 
that which to-day seems absolutely impracti- 



54 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

cable will seem to you easy, at least very 
possible, when the proper time shall come. 
It is not always an evil intention that leads 
one to make a secret reserve on entering the 
hfe of devotion ; if it were, I do not hesitate 
to say such devotion would be false and delu- 
sive : should one manifestly expose himself 
to the danger of not fulfilling his vows, God 
would give us grace to serve him in one's 
own way ; and one would thereby risk his sal- 
vation, whatever desire he might have to 
secure it. The usual cause of this reserve is, 
that seeing openly the vast career of holiness, 
and consulting one's present strength, one 
thinks that he is utterly unable to go through 
to the end. He resolves to enter it, because 
he is rightly disposed ; but he makes a plan 
conformed to his actual feebleness, to which 
he designs to subject himself without going 
farther. This is a great error, which springs 
partly from ignorance ; partly from self-love, 



Absolute Self- surrender, 55 

desirous of managing itself; and partly from 
Satan, who is jealous of our progress. We 
ought to remember that grace is the only 
source of our strength ; that it will increase 
in proportion to our fidelity ; that God gives 
strength according to our need, so that the 
more w^e advance, the more we are impelled 
to advance, and the more easily we surmount 
all obstacles. What should we say of a child, 
who, without considering that his strength 
would insensibly increase with his age, 
should regulate by his present weakness the 
burden he ought to carry when he is a man, 
and would not beheve that he would then be 
able to carry one twenty times heavier? 
Whoever you may be, then, if you wish to 
give yourself to God, do so heartily and 
entirely. Enter into no compromise ; appre- 
hend but one thing, that of not having suffi- 
cient generosity. Remember that the least 
reserve will weaken you, even for the things 



56 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

which you cheerfully consent to do ; and, on 
the contrary, the burden will be the lighter 
the more you do not seek to diminish it. 
This will appear a paradox only to him who 
does not beheve that God will display all the 
power of his grace in favor of a noble and 
generous soul, who spares nothing to please 
him, and that a close and narrow heart con- 
strains him against his will to use reserve on 
his part. It is not my design to explain in 
detail what it is to have no reserve with God, 
nor what kind of reserve, open or hidden, may 
enter into most of our devotions : this would 
be beyond the narrow hmits of this work. 
Practice will teach earnest souls more than 
it would be possible for me to say. 



An Undivided Heart, 57 

CHAPTER XIII. 

^rue IBeijotiott requirrs an ^ntiibitieti |§eart. 

Ig^IRUE devotion allows but one single 
IH^ object, — " Thou shalt worship the 
Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou 
serv^e." Such is the law of devotion. The 
adoration which comprises the homage of the 
mind and the heart excludes all reserve, and 
the service which belongs to God alone ex- 
cludes all division. Every other service is 
legitimate only as it flows out of this, and is 
dependent upon it. Christ has declared that 
'' no man can serve two masters," such as 
God and the world, whose wills are contrary, 
whose laws are opposed, the one to the other, 
and consequently whose service is incompati- 
ble. God wants me all to himself : the world 



58 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

wants me all to itself. There is no way of 
harmonizing their claims, which are mutu- 
ally destructive of each other. It is necessary 
that I should choose : and, if I love the one, 
I must hate the other; if I obey the one, I 
must despise the other. How can one 'be 
deceived upon so evident a truth ? Yet Chris- 
tendom is full of religious people who en- 
deavor to conciliate the interests of God 
with those of the world; who pretend to 
unite in the same heart the love of God and 
the love of the world ; and who, wishing to 
serve both, really serve neither. We might 
say to them as the prophet Elijah said to the 
Israelites, "How long halt ye between two 
opinions? if the Lord be God, serve him : 
if Baal, then serve him." People think they 
do not hold fast to the world because they 
have renounced every thing which is crimi- 
nal and evidently dangerous. They are no 
longer slaves to lust, which is the principal 



An Undivided Heart, 59 

divinity of this world ; but they are still slaves 
to interest and false honor. On these two 
objects they follow the maxims reproved by 
the gospel, making wealth, nobility, honor, 
and all that elevates or distinguishes us, the 
whole business of hfe ; loving and desiring 
these things for themselves and their chil- 
dren, and putting forth every effort to pre- 
serve them or to procure them. They adopt 
on all occasions the judgments of the world, 
and they conform their conduct thereto. 
They are jealous of its esteem, and fear to 
lose it by openly declaring in favor of piety ; 
and they retain it at the expense of virtue, 
notwithstanding the reproaches of conscience. 
They fear its ridicule and its censure, and 
they manage to shield themselves from it ; the 
service of God suffers-; they are tormented, 
and drawn violently on both sides ; human re- 
spect enslaves them, and holds them continu- 
ally in mortal fear. They wish to belong to 



6o Characteristics of True Devotion. 

God, yet they blush at the appearance of be- 
ing his : they pray in secret, and they conceal 
the performance of their rehgious duties with 
as much care as if they were committing 
some evil deed. What slavery ! What tor- 
ment ! What infidelity ! W^hat carelessness ! 
Wliat cowardice ! Is this to be devoted to 
God ? Shall he be served only in secret ? Is 
it a shame to own him as your Master ? They 
do not wish to attract public notice, they say. 
If by public notice they mean making a pa- 
rade of devotion, displaying it ostentatiously, 
seeking to be seen and applauded in what 
they do, they are right, and follow the pre- 
cept of the gospel, ^^ Let not thy left hand 
know what thy right hand doeth " (Matt. vi. 
1-6). But between display of that sort, and 
trembling to appear in public as the servant 
of God, devoted to the glory and the interests 
of so great and good a Master, there is a 
middle path, which is, to go calmly on one's 



An Undivided Heart. 6i 

way without troubling one's self whether one 
is observed ; to follow one's conscience right- 
eously ; to render to God, without affectation, 
but openly, the homage he expects of us, for 
his glory, and the edification of our neigh- 
bor ; and to reserve in secret only that which 
requires to be concealed from the eye of 
others. The truly devout know well how to 
keep this middle path. They are not afraid 
others should know that they serve God 
with all their heart, and that they have for 
the world only contempt and horror : they 
explain this clearly on occasions when it 
seems necessary, and which obhge them to 
tread human respect under foot. But they 
are no less careful to withdraw from other 
eyes certain practices of piety, certain good 
works, the knowledge of which belongs to God 
alone. In this way they exemplify the pre- 
cept of Christ, " Let your light so shine before 
men, that they may see your good works, and 



62 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

glorify your Father which is in heaven;'' and 
also what he says in another place, " Do not 
your alms befo7'e men, to be seen of them; " 
and again, " When ye pray, be not as the hyp- 
ocrites : for they love to pray standing in the 
synagogues and in the corners of the streets, 
that they may be seen of men ; but thou, when 
thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when 
thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father 
which is in secret'' They keep always in 
remembrance that sentence pronounced by 
our Lord, " Whosoever shall confess me be- 
fore men, him will I confess also before my 
Father, But whosoever shall deny 7ne before 
men, him will I also de?iy before my Father," 
I know, indeed, that prudence authorizes 
some discretion. A feeble virtue ought not 
to be exposed to the full day, nor too boldly 
to dare human respect ; because it may not 
be able to sustain the assaults which will be 
made against it. The deference and respect 



An Undivided Heart 62^ 

due to a father, a husband, or a master, who 
has Httle regard for piety, must be observed ; 
and one must carefully avoid every thing 
which can offend or irritate them. This the 
early Christians did in domestic persecutions. 
For the sake of peace they did not declare 
themselves to their masters, their parents, nor 
their idolatrous friends : the brother avoided 
the suspicious looks of his brother, the wife 
avoided her husband, and, in general, the 
believer avoided the unbeliever. To-day, 
more than ever, there are circumstances in 
which one must observe the same line of 
conduct. But when one is not responsible to 
anybody for his actions, and has nothing to 
fear but the powerless censure of the worldly, 
he should not hesitate to be brave, to walk 
uprightly, and to appear openly what he is, 
and what he desires to be. Do the partisans 
of the world fear to declare themselves? Did 
he himself fear it when he was of their num- 



64 Characteristics of True Devotion. 

ber? The shortest way for him now is, to 
break with it absolutely, heart and will; to 
assume a manner of seeing, of judging, of 
speaking, and of acting, entirely opposed to 
it; to hold with it no other relations than 
those which are indispensable and compatible 
with the most delicate piety ; to renounce its 
esteem, to rise above its maxims, and to re- 
joice like the apostles, and all true disciples 
of Christ, when it criticises, blames, despises, 
calumniates, and persecutes. Devotion to 
God demands all these dispositions, and it 
yields them if it is sincere. When one has 
resolutely taken this part, he is well recom- 
pensed, even in this Hfe : he is loosed from 
all chains ; he is free without, peaceable with- 
in : God is satisfied, conscience makes no 
reproaches, and the world itself admires and 
approves the contempt he has for it. 



Devotion is for Perso7is of Evejj Age, 65 

CHAPTER XIV. 

IBebotton is for persons of lEberg ^ge. 

IS^lRUE devotion is for persons of every 
IhJ^I ^g^ ^^^ every condition : it extends 
to all situations, and to all the conduct of 
life. When the Christian first comes to the 
use of his reason, he should consecrate to 
God the thoughts of his mind and the affec- 
tions of his heart. It is the first-fruits which 
God regards most tenderly. He requires 
that the devotion of childhood should be the 
result of the first development of the soul. 
In that happy age, when all is candor and 
innocence, the more the spirit is disengaged 
from prejudice, the more the heart is free 
from passion, the purer is the conscience, 
and the more also is the child susceptible of 



66 Characteristics of True Devotion. 

a sincere, tender, simple, and honest piety. 
" Suffer the Mttle children to come unto me," 
said our Lord. They are unconscious of 
mahce; the world has neither seduced nor 
corrupted them; they are free from every 
stain; their artless souls are flexible to all 
the movements of grace; the kingdom of 
heaven is for such as they, and those who 
would enter into it must become as little 
children. Give yourselves, then, to God in 
your youth, and respond to his sweet invita- 
tion. You are sensible of the love of father 
and mother; prove also the love of your 
heavenly Father. It is to you he says, 
"Taste and see how gracious the Lord is." 
Early embrace his love, and this holy affec- 
tion will preserve you from the poisoned flat- 
tery which the world will some day offer you ; 
and you Christian parents, you teachers of 
the young, you who mould the conscience, 
hasten to bend it under the yoke of Christ. 



Devotion is for Persons of Every Age, 67 

It is good for thee to bear the yoke in thy 
youth, for then the soul is phable and easily 
fashioned ; and, if it should some time have 
the misfortune to throw it off, it will the more 
easily return to it. The farther one advances 
in the light of reason, the more inexcusable 
he is for not devoting himself to God. True, 
the passions begin to assert themselves, and 
their tumultuous noise tends to stifle the 
voice of grace ; but it is easy to impose 
silence upon them when they first rise, or at 
least to preserve the heart from their seduc- 
tion. They cannot stand against the exer- 
cises of piety, the reading of good books, 
good advice and good example, and the fre- 
quent use of the means of grace in the holy 
sacrament of the Lord's Supper. In manhood, 
when reason is in its strength, when the heart 
has more consistence, and the character more 
solidity, grace would act more efficaciously 
upon the soul, to determine it on the side of 



68 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

devotion, if the cares of life, the absorbing 
anxieties of ambition, and bad habits con- 
tracted in youth, did not raise an obstacle in 
its way. But there is nothing over which a 
right spirit and a strong will may not triumph. 
Upon what plausible pretext, then, can the 
Christian dispense with a devotion, of which 
he feels more than ever the necessity ? If it 
is that he should occupy himself most ear- 
nestly with his fortune, is it not important that 
he should think of the permanent establish- 
ment which his labor will procure for him in 
heaven? that he should direct toward this 
object, the only real object of interest, all 
his efforts and all his designs? In old age, 
when the fire of passion is extinguished, and 
no longer thwarts the determinations of the 
will ; when experience has dispelled the 
charm and the illusion of the world ; when 
objects make little impression upon the enfee- 
bled senses ; when disease and weakness give 



Devotion is for Persons of Every Age, 69 

warning that the end of Hfe draws near, — 
every thing invites, every thing urges, him to 
offer to God at least the last moments of hfe, 
and to compensate, by a fervent and solid 
piety, for the many years of which he has 
robbed him, by a shameful and perhaps a 
criminal course. There can be no delay : 
death is advancing with rapid steps ; and, 
when his last sickness shall overtake him, it 
will be too late. The carelessness of child- 
hood, the impetuosity of youth, the private 
and pubhc occupations of mature years, the 
inertia of old age, cannot be regarded as 
any excuse, or any reason for dispensation. 
In conclusion, all that can be said is, that 
every age presents its own difficulties to 
overcome ; and, in every time of Hfe, it is 
necessary to do violence to nature in order 
to belong to God. 



70 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

CHAPTER XV. 

©ebotton cxtcntis to ^11 Contiitiotts. 

^^HE same judgment must be given to 
g^ all conditions of life. Each one offers 
a favorable and an unfavorable side to devo- 
tion, and not one of them offers any legitimate 
reason for exemption. Greatness has its dan- 
gers ; and we cannot be secure against them, 
except by special protection of God, — pro- 
tection which we ought not to expect unless 
we are devoted to his service. Public offices 
have great duties to be fulfilled, and they are 
exposed to great temptations. How can we 
hope to perform these duties and resist these 
temptations without devotion? Cares and 
occupations multiply, and leave us scarcely 
time to breathe ; but, if the heart is conse- 



Devotion extends to All Conditions, 71 

crated to God, we shall be free in the midst 
of all these distractions, which will become 
occasions for us to testify our obedience and 
our love. How many have been sanctified 
in military Hfe, where the obstacles appear 
insurmountable ! How many in the govern- 
ment departments ! How many in charge of 
the public revenues ! Some conditions are 
excepted, — such as are in themselves con- 
trary to salvation, and are proscribed by the 
gospel ; which nobody is obhged to accept, 
and which are only tolerated in some gov- 
ernments on account of poHcy. Excepting 
these I assert confidently, that there is no 
state of life in which saints may not be 
formed ; in which, indeed, they are not 
formed every day. Would God, the x^uthor 
of all the various conditions of society, have 
established one in which it was morally im- 
possible to be saved? If in some there are 
greater difficulties, there he has also given 



72 Characteristics of True Devotion. 

greater help ; and all who have surrendered 
themselves to his guidance have learned this 
happy experience. Devotion comprises all 
situations. It is equally necessary in sick- 
ness and in health, in prosperity and in ad- 
versity, in wealth and in poverty, in sadness 
and in joy, in all the good and the evil of 
this present life ; and as evil is incomparably 
more common than good, and all human re- 
sources are insufficient on many occasions, it 
follows, that devotion to God, and submission 
to his will, are the only solid consolation which 
remains to the Christian amid all his afflictions 
and crosses, of whatever nature they may be. 
Devotion also extends naturally to all actions, 
and there is not one which may not be sanc- 
tified by it. That is not a perfect devotion 
which does not include, under the dominion 
of God, all that may be comprised therein, 
even such of our actions as may be consid- 
ered especially human. The design of God 



Devotion extends to All Conditions, 73 

is, that they all may be referred to him, and 
may be made to subserve to his glory. Thus 
the truly devoted consecrate every thing to 
him without exception, and sanctify them by 
this consecration. They know that, where 
men act conformably to reason, the Christian 
must act conformably to religion. It is not 
sufficient that he act in a state of grace, but 
he must act according to a principle of grace. 
As, to act reasonably, it is not enough that a 
man simply makes use of his reason, but he 
must apply it to that which he actually does. 
This principle, which is an incontrovertible 
truth, leads far, if one will take ever so little 
trouble to understand it. He deceives him- 
self who considers himself devoted because 
he performs every day by routine a certain 
number of pious exercises, yet lives in dissi- 
pation, indulging without restraint in all kinds 
of thoughts, desires, and actions, provided 
only he commits nothing criminal. By this 



74 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

reckoning he gives to God a certain amount 
of time daily, and does as he pleases with the 
remainder of the day. But this is not at all 
the right thing. Every moment belongs to 
him; and he demands that all our time be 
employed in a manner worthy of him and of 
our Christian profession, and we are not at 
liberty to dispose of it at our own pleasure. 
The duties of our state in life, labor, and what- 
ever relaxation may be granted to nature, must 
fill up the empty spaces of the day; but 
nothing should interrupt that incessant prayer 
which Christ and his apostles recommended : 
" Ye ought always to pray, and not to faints 
'' Pray without ceasing^ The object of pre- 
scribed prayers is, to draw down the blessing 
of Heaven when His grace is especially 
needed ; as one is tempted to divert himself, 
and to act in a manner entirely human, and 
to commit many faults without being aware 
of it. 



Love is the only Foundation of Devotion, 75 

CHAPTER XVI. 

3Lobe is tfye onlg Jountration of Hcbottott* 

I'^piOVE alone can produce devotion. It 
3.^1 is love which gives it birth, growth, 
and perfection ; and the practice of devotion, 
in its turn, nourishes and strengthens love. 
We may define devotion as the love of God 
reduced to exercise. What would be that 
devotion which had not for its principal 
cause the love of the object to which we are 
devoted? If we are devoted to a creature 
only in proportion as we give him affection, 
earnestly embrace his interests, eagerly seek 
every occasion to please and oblige him, 
sparing nothing for his comfort, his health, 
his good, not even our life, how much more 
affectionate, earnest, hearty, and generous 



76 Characteristics of True Devotion. 

ought to be the feelings of a soul devoted 
to God ! When he bids us love hijn with 
all our heart, with all our soul, with all our 
strength, is it not equivalent to a command 
to be entirely devoted to him? Devotion 
is the fulfilling to the letter the great pre- 
cept of the love of God. So far as devotion 
fails, so far does the accomplishment of this 
precept fail ; and we may say of devotion as 
of love, that it is the fulfilment of the law. 
Perfect devotion casteth out fear, even as 
perfect charity. Devotion is the character- 
istic of children, even as fear is that of 
slaves. Fear sees in God a master, a judge, 
an avenger, and serves him under these as- 
pects. Devotion sees in him a Father, whom 
it fears, respects, and obeys, because it loves 
him. Fear may dispose a soul to become 
devoted, but it cannot make it such ; for, the 
moment it is devoted, it is no longer fear, 
but love, that rules within it. Love, wherever 



Love is the only Foundation of Devotion, 77 

it may be, tends to reign alone, and espe- 
cially to banish fear, to which it is entirely 
opposed. Fear has its source in self-love, 
which is the enemy of the love of God, and 
the foe of devotion. Consider the souls who 
serve God from the fear of being lost ; who 
are impressed only by the terrible truths of 
religion, and who are always frozen with fright. 
To whom are they devoted ? Is it to God ? 
No ! it is to themselves, and their own in- 
terests. Why do they fear sin ? Is it because 
it offends God ? By no means ! It is be- 
cause God will punish it. Why do they 
tremble at hell? Is it because of the suffer- 
ing of the damned through the eternal 
banishment from God ? Not at all ! Physi- 
cal pain, eternal flames, are all they dread. 
Let us not confound here the terror which 
springs from a Hvely and feeble imagination, 
and which the heart disowns, with that which 
originates in low and servile sentiments. 



78 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

Many truly devoted persons are subject to 
this terror, which torments them, and which 
they have great difficulty in overcoming. 
But it diminishes as they advance in the hfe 
of devotion, and at last it will wholly disap- 
pear. It is not seldom, that, after having been 
afraid all their life of the judgments of God, 
they die in peace, confidence, and security. 



Seek God only, 79 



CHAPTER XVII. 

C0 \t trulg tieboteti, one must forget \\% ©^n 
^Interests, anU seek ^oti onlg* 

[y^OlOR the same reason, true devotion 
{ia^al is not mercenary nor interested. In 
the beginning, it is true, when God lavishes 
his favors, it depends upon them too much ; 
it courts them, and this is one of the motives 
of its fidehty : but soon it rises above all 
these ; and, after God has severed it from 
them, it serves him with no less zeal and 
diligence. The devoted soul, at its entrance 
on this career, becomes a child. God 
treats it as a child ; and it would not be 
just to attribute to it mercenary designs, 
because consolations are its attraction and 
delight. With regard to salvation, whatever 



So Characteristics of True Devotion, 

progress the soul makes in devotion, it always 
desires it ; and it rejects with horror any in- 
difference to this essential end, but it desires 
it less for itself than for God. It desires, 
indeed, its own happiness ; and should it not 
desire this? But it desires very much more 
the glory and the good pleasure of God. It 
serves him, like David, because of the rec- 
ompense ; but this is only a secondary 
motive : love is the first and the principal 
one. He who loves sincerely, views the be- 
loved object with a direct regard, which does 
not fall back upon its own interest. He does 
not exclude it ; he cannot exclude it, indeed, 
since he has put his happiness in the pos- 
session of him whom he loves : but he does 
not estabHsh his end in this possession be- 
cause it makes him happy ; but he establishes 
it in the glory which redounds to God, and 
in the accompHshment of his will. I will 
not enlarge further upon the purity and ex- 



Seek God only. 8i 

treme delicacy of divine love ; but we should 
reflect attentively upon the qualities of the 
devotion which has God for its object, and 
we should understand how it ought to be dis- 
engaged from every thought of self-interest. 
I do not know how far it may be on the 
earth in some privileged souls ; they alone 
can tell : but it is certain that no thought of 
self-interest, no return upon self, has any 
place in the abode of the blessed ; and it is 
this which renders their happiness complete. 
It is a truth incomprehensible to self-love, — 
a truth which desolates it, and puts it in de- 
spair, because it cannot conform to the idea 
of a happiness in which it has no part, and 
from which it is totally excluded. Devotion, 
if it is solid, and if love is its moving prin- 
ciple, tends to that admirable clearness of 
vision which belongs to the inhabitants of 
heaven ; and, if it cannot fully attain to it, it 
strives at least to approach it. Let us see 



82 Characteristics of True Devotion. 

if this is ours. Let us not fear to examine 
our motives, and, with the aid of grace, let us 
endeavor to purify them. For the fear of 
being lost ourselves, let us substitute the fear 
of losing God ; for the interested desire of 
saving ourselves, let us substitute that of pos- 
sessing God, and of being eternally united 
to him. Substantially it is the same thing. 
The object is not changed, but the manner 
of regarding it is very different \ and it is this 
difference of aspect and of motive which 
gives to devotion various degrees of excel- 
lence and perfection. 



Fatal Effects of Self- Love upon Devotion, ^t^ 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
JFatal lEffects of ^elf^Hobe upon 31ebott0n» 

Mi 



AFTER what we have just said, what 
becomes of all the devotions, of which 
self-love is the foundation ? How false they 
are ! How deceitful, and yet how common ! 
I do not speak of that gross self-love which 
fosters passion and vice. I speak of a spirit- 
ual self-love, which gHdes subtly into the 
practices of piety, — a self-love which has 
its capital vices ; which is proud, covetous, 
envious, voluptuous, avaricious, censorious, 
and idle ; which is none the less blind, and 
the danger of which is greater in proportion 
as the objects to which it is attached are 
holy. Are such devoted people rare, as 
nourish a secret pride, and, Uke the Phar- 



84 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

isees, are full of self-esteem, and contempt 
for their neighbor? who attribute to them- 
selves the gifts and graces of God, and fear 
nothing so much as to be deprived of them ; 
who envy those whom they think more 
favored or more advanced than themselves ; 
who flavor celestial sweetness with sensuality ; 
who are covetous and insatiable ; who are 
passionate, malicious, filled with hate and 
bitterness, and all, as they fancy, in zeal for 
God ; who indulge in relaxation, effeminacy, 
idleness, and all that is gratifying to nature ? 
I admit, that in the beginning, and even in 
the progress of the spiritual life, we are more 
or less subject to these excesses, because of 
our natural imperfections. When one enters 
upon a life of piety, his self-love, torn from 
temporal things, throws itself back upon 
spiritual things. It seizes them, and desires 
to make them its prey; attaching itself to 
them with the more force, inasmuch as they 



Fatal Effects of Self- Love ii^pon Devotion. 85 

are the more excellent. But the truly de- 
voted constantly endeavor to resist it, pursue 
it from place to place, and drive it from 
every spot on which it takes refuge. This 
battle is its main object ; and it fears it will 
fall if it relaxes ever so slightly, or grows 
weary in its attacks. As the spirit of religion 
detaches man from temporal things, so the 
spirit of devotion detaches him from spiritual 
things; allows him not to delight in them, 
nor to assume them, nor to claim any right 
to them ; and leads him by degrees to renun- 
ciation, self-abnegation, and perfect poverty. 
He has every thing, yet clings to nothing. 
God gives to and takes from him, how and 
when he pleases ; and he is neither afflicted 
nor elated. Opposing vices do not disclose 
themselves at first, because of their subtlety : 
but, as we advance, we are illuminated with 
divine light, which teaches us to recognize 
them; and all the fidelity of devoted souls 



86 Characteristics of Trtce Devotion. 

consists in drawing down this light, receiving 
it with gratitude, and profiting by its sugges- 
tions. It costs long and painful effort ; it 
requires great courage ; it is necessary to 
crucify the natural will and affections, in order 
to eradicate entirely these subtle vices. It is 
the labor of the whole Hfe ; but, if we corre- 
spond with grace, we will surely attain our 
true end, and be delivered, as far as possible, 
from the tyranny of self-love. God beholds 
our earnest endeavor, and will finish, by 
proofs of mercy, what we could never ac 
complish of ourselves. 



Devotion inspires Confidence, 87 



CHAPTER XIX. 

iSebotion inspires (ITonfitience, ^ecessitg of tfjis 
Confitjence, antJ its (ffifooti Effects. 

EVOTION, being the daughter of love, 
is the mother of confidence ; for the 
more we love God, the more we confide in 
him : the one is the rule and measure of the 
other. The love of God is not a blind love, 
but a love founded upon the knowledge of 
his infinite goodness toward his creatures. It 
is this knowledge which leads us to repose 
upon him all our interests ; never to distrust 
him ; to beheve, notwithstanding his apparent 
severity, that he loves us, that he wishes to 
save us, and that indeed he will save us, if we 
keep our confidence. " Throw yourself mto 
his arms," said St. Augustine : " he will not 



8S Characteristics of True Devotion. 

let you fall/' I add to this thought of the 
holy doctor, that, if he should appear some- 
times to withdraw from you, it is only that he 
wishes to prove you, and see how far your 
confidence will reach, in order to increase 
your reward. As this virtue is that which 
honors him the most, it is also that which he 
cultivates within us the most ; and, in strong 
and generous souls, he tries it to the last ex- 
tremity. Confidence holds the mean between 
two opposite vices, presumption and cow- 
ardice, both of which have the same source, 
self-love. We are presumptuous when we 
rely too much upon ourselves : we are weak, 
when, leaning only on ourselves, we realize 
how feeble is the support. The presump- 
tuous man says, '' Nothing will ever shake 
me : " the coward says, on the contrary, 
"The least breath will overthrow me." The 
man of confidence, looking at himself, says, 
like the coward, that any thing can overthrow 



Devotion inspires Co7ifidence. 89 

him ; but, looking at God, he adds that noth- 
ing can move him. Thus he unites the two 
sentiments, which are vicious when separated, 
but are virtuous when joined 'together. Noth- 
ing is more important, nothing of greater ser- 
vice, in the Hfe of devotion, than confidence. 
God desires to exercise our faith. He con- 
strains us to shut our eyes, and to walk blindly. 
He apparently perplexes us ; so that we know 
not where we are, nor whither we are going. 
He permits us to lose our foot-hold, takes 
from us all knowledge of our interior state, 
forbids us all introspection ; and, if we wish 
to seek some assurance, he abandons us to 
great anxiety. Why does he try us in this 
way? Simply to compel us to renounce our- 
selves, and to surrender ourselves wholly to 
him. What would become of faith, and to 
what would it serve, if one could always see 
clearly the state of his soul? if one always 
understood the reason of that which God 



90 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

permits from one moment to another? if one 
followed not step by step the march and 
progress of his operations? The confidence 
of the bhnd man in his guide is founded in 
the fact that he himself sees nothing. The 
more unfamiliar the way through which he is 
led, the greater is his confidence. Though 
he believes it dangerous, and bordered with 
precipices, still he shows no anxiety, informs 
himself of nothing, and feels assured that he 
will not be led astray, but will be conducted 
safe, happily to the end. When one is de- 
voted to God, confidence in him must be 
unlimited. To withdraw it, under whatever 
pretext, is to fall back, and follow his own 
leading. To assign certain limits, beyond 
which he resolves not to pass, is to place a 
restriction on his devotion, than which noth- 
ing is more derogatory to God, nor more 
harmful to his own spiritual growth. Is it not 
to doubt the goodness and the power of God 



Devotion inspires Confidence. 91 

if we think he will not or can not draw our 
soul from every evil way, and from the most 
imminent dangers, when it is pledged to faith, 
and to entire submission to his guidance ? It 
is absolutely impossible that God should fail 
such a soul, and should not succor him as he 
needs. That would be being untrue to him- 
self. But he only can judge how far to test 
the soul, and to observe the precise moment 
when he will come to its relief. Let us aban- 
don ourselves, then, to him, and say with Job, 
^'Though he slay me, yet will I trust him." 



92 Characteristics of True Devotion, 



CHAPTER XX. 

IBebotion protiticcs <Sclf=I^noiDlctJp, anlr conse* 
qtientig f^umilttg* 

jlEVOTION leads to self-knowledge, as 
well as to the knowledge of God ; and 
as confidence is the fruit of the knowledge of 
God, so humility is the fruit of self-knowl- 
edge. Man does not and can not know him- 
self by the light of nature alone, and it is for 
the want of this knowledge that he is proud. 
But, the moment he devotes himself to God, 
a celestial light shines upon him and illumi- 
nates him : he begins to see himself as he is, — 
filled with misery, weak, opposed to all good, 
inclined to all evil. Recollection renders him 
attentive to himself; and he soon learns that 
he has two natures, the one the enemy of the 



Devotion produces Self- Know ledge. 93 

other, and that the spiritual hfe is a perpetual 
warfare. Experience teaches him still more 
thoroughly. At the first attempt he learns 
how difficult it is to conquer himself; to 
struggle against his evil inchnations ; how 
much time and effort the correction of the 
smallest fault requires ; how much the prac- 
tice of piety costs, notwithstanding his love 
for it; how much resistance he opposes to 
grace, by the weakness, the negligence, the 
unfaithfulness, of which he is guilty every day ; 
how feeble his will ; how transient his resolu- 
tions ; how fruitless his good intentions ; how 
strong over him are the dominion of the world, 
the flesh, and the Devil; and how, without 
special and continual help from God, he will 
surely fall ! This experimental knowledge of 
himself, joined with the light he receives from 
above, inspires humihty, which is nothing but 
the close conviction and consciousness of the 
fearful depth of corruption within, that age 



94 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

and opportunities have developed. The far- 
ther we advance, the deeper becomes this 
conviction, and the more humihty takes root 
in the heart. Hence his contempt of himself, 
his salutary distrust of his own strength, the 
sincere preference he gives to others ; behev- 
ing them to be better than himself, or, at least, 
not doubting, that, if they had received the 
same grace, they would have much more 
profited by it. Hence, also, that confusion 
in view of the favor God bestows upon him, 
and of the esteem and affection of others, 
and the approbation they confer. Instead of 
exalting him, all this humbles and abases him. 
If he reflects upon himself, it is only to hum- 
ble him the more. He is blind to his virtues, 
ignores his progress, attributes all his victo- 
ries to God, and his failures to himself. 



Simplicity and the Fear of Observation, 95 



CHAPTER XXI. 

^itnplicftg anti tfje jFcar of ©ftserbatton are tfje 
(ifjaracterfstics of Crue IBebotion: J^ob feb 
possess tijem. 

j|RUE devotion, so far as it depends 
upon itself, walks by the simplest and 
most common way. It follows the beaten 
path, and avoids the unfrequented by-ways. 
It has a horror of irregularity, always fearing 
to be observed and noticed : its desire is to 
be hidden and lost in the crowd. It loves 
piety, and prefers above all others the 
practices which have less show and more 
substance. It is like the lowly violet, 
which dares not hft itself up to the light, 
but which is trodden under foot in the grass 
which covers it. Except what is necessary 



96 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

for the example and edification of his neigh- 
bor, it is careful to conceal its conduct from 
the observation of others. It is perfectly- 
natural, neither affected nor fastidious. In- 
stead of desiring extraordinary gifts, it deems 
itself unworthy of them ; and it continually 
asks God to do nothing for it which may 
attract the attention of man, or give to it 
the slightest consideration. It aspires not to 
the saints w^ho are distinguished, who have 
had visions, revelations, gifts of prophecy, 
and other singular graces, and who have been 
the marvel of their age. It admires and 
reveres those who have displayed these gifts ; 
but it chooses for its own part, obscurity, 
scorn, ignominy, to be nothing, to be known 
by his deficiencies, or altogether ignored and 
forgotten. Good w^orks which make a noise 
in the world are not to its taste : it prefers 
those to which God is the only witness. It 
recommends secrecy to its beneficiaries, and 



Simplicity and the Fea7' of Observation. 97 

conceals from them, as far as possible, the 
source of their benefits. It would Hke to 
conceal it from itself, that its left hand might 
not know what its right hand doeth. It 
forgets it, and reproaches itself for the least 
memory of it, or complaisance in it, as for a . 
fault. The devoted of this character are so 
rare, that one might think I have just drawn 
an imaginary portrait. There are some such, 
however ; and it is because they have nothing 
to distinguish them that we fancy them more 
rare than they are. In many others, however, 
you see only singularity, affectation, and 
ostentation. They have their own air, man- 
ner, and style of dressing, their language and 
conduct : imagination seduces them, the 
Devil deceives them, pride devours them. 
Who would beheve that so refined a pride 
could insinuate itself into a life of piety? 
Who would believe that one could devote 
himself to God merely to gratify himself? that 



98 Characteristics of True Devotion. 

one should aspire to sanctity in order to 
gain a reputation ? that one should gather the 
fruit of virtue, only to approve himself, and 
to win the approbation of others? I do not 
assert that such Christians as these are alto- 
gether hypocrites, nor that these traits belong 
to every one of them in all their strength : 
but it is true that very few found their devo- 
tion upon humility ; that pride, the most 
subtle of all the vices, is that of which he 
distrusts himself the least ; that it is incom- 
parably the most dangerous ; that nothing so 
entirely blinds us ; that it is the most deeply 
rooted in the human heart, the most difficult 
to subdue, the longest to extirpate. It is 
more to be feared for those who profess an 
exalted piety than for any others, because it 
is especially that to which it attaches itself: 
it is, indeed, the worm which gnaws and cor- 
rupts it. We cannot be too much on our 
guard against it ; and, if we drive it from one 



Shnplicity and the Fear of Observation. 99 

place, it will return to another. Would you 
know what is the touchstone of true devo- 
tion ? It is the love of humiliations. He who 
sincerely desires them ; who makes them 
the great object of his prayers ; who receives 
them with interior joy, notwithstanding the 
repugnance of nature ; who thanks God for 
them ; who regards them as a most precious 
boon j who does nothing to escape them ; 
who is glad that his faults are known, that he 
is reproached for his defects, that his virtues 
should be traduced, and his reputation sul- 
lied ; and who, if it were contrary to the will 
of God, will not allow one word for his 
justification, — this is the truly devoted, the 
perfect disciple of Jesus Christ. I ask now, 
are there many truly devoted ? Are we of that 
number? Let each one answer to himself, 
and let him be advised that he has advanced 
very little in the Hfe of devotion if he feels him- 
self to be far removed from this perfection. 



loo Characteristics of True Devotion. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

iKortification of tfjc Senses is ^notfjer ©ualttg 
of IBebotion. 

ilEVOTION is no less the friend of 
mortification than of humiHty : indeed, 
humihty is really the main branch of mortifi- 
cation ; its object being, to make a man die 
to all love of himself and of his own excel- 
lence. The other two branches are, the 
death of the disorderly affections of the 
flesh, and of one's natural inclination to fol- 
low his own will and self-interest. The truly 
devoted spares himself no more over these 
last two objects than over the first. He 
knows that mortification is what God espe- 
cially demands of him. Prayer is rather 
God's work than his own, but all devotion is 



Mortification of the Senses, loi 

comprised in the practice of prayer and mor- 
tification ; and, the more devoted one is, the 
more one progresses in both of these. There 
is a reciprocal relation between God and the 
soul which is devoted to him ; for God takes 
care of the prayer, while the soul takes care 
of the mortification : not that he does not 
extend his hand, and co-operate with the 
soul in one as with the other ; but prayer is 
principally the work of grace, and mortifica- 
tion the work of the will. Mortification of 
the flesh is indispensable for two great rea- 
sons. First, because the immoderate love of 
the flesh, the eager desire for sensual pleas- 
ures, and the fleeing from all suffering, are 
the source of an infinite number of sins ; 
second, because the " carnal man understand- 
eth not the things which belong to God," 
and has no relish for them. Therefore, when 
a man consecrates himself to God, the desire 
for exterior mortification is the first thing 



102 Characteristics of True Devotion. 

which is awakened within him. Those who 
are indifferent or careless upon this point are 
not truly devoted. In the first fervor of 
devotion, one is apt to carry this to excess, 
and to go too far, unless restrained by the 
counsel of a wise director. 



Mortification of the WilL 103 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

ilHortifiration of tfje OTill (JHsscntial to JBtbotion. 

ra^lHE mortification of the will is much 
IbL^ more important, more extended, and 
more difficult to practise, than that of the 
body. It knows no limits nor exceptions. 
We can never suspend it, and we need never 
fear that we can carry it too far. Were I to 
do nothing more than to explain here the 
many kinds of death through which the will 
must pass in order to be absolutely lost in 
the will of God, it would make a large vol- 
ume. Suffice it to say, that these deaths are 
different, according to the designs of God 
upon the soul ; and one can form little idea, 
of it till he is in the furnace of trial. 
Remember that to be devoted is to be con- 



I04 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

secrated to God, to have no other will than 
his : and it is God alone who can know just 
how far this must extend ; since, in consecrat- 
ing himself, man surrenders his will, that God 
may dispose of him according to his own 
good pleasure. He must, therefore, resolve 
to die to himself, and to yield to God in all 
he may do or permit for the accomplish- 
ment of this end. Do not be alarmed, how- 
ever, beforehand, nor give the reins to your 
imagination upon things which may never 
happen to you. Wait in peace till God 
manifests his design. Anticipate nothing, 
fear nothing, reject nothing, and choose 
nothing for yourself. Let him act. He is 
infinitely wise : he knows the most secret 
recesses of your will, and he knows how 
best to lead it to his own purposes. He 
will begin by easy ways, and will grad- 
ually come to things which will cost you 
more ; and thus will lead you on, if he deems 



Mortification of the WilL 105 

it proper, to great sacrifices. But he will 
dispose all things with as much gentleness 
as strength, and will prepare your will in 
such a way that it will resist less and less, 
until at last it loses the power of resistance. 
All that you are able to give by your own 
consent, he will sweetly incHne you to give ; 
and what it would not be in your power to 
give, he will constrain you to let him take, 
by virtue of the absolute gift you have already 
made of yourself. Such is the way that God 
ordinarily pursues. He solicits of the soul a 
general and indistinct consent to all that he 
may be pleased to ordain. This consent 
once granted, he develops his private in- 
tentions, either by the events of his provi- 
dence, and the unforeseen circumstances in 
which he places the soul, or by the tempta- 
tions and trials to which he permits it to be 
exposed. He proportions his grace and 
help to every situation, and the soul has 



io6 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

nothing to do on its part but to yield accord- 
ingly to the will of God. It submits at first 
with reluctance, and after many struggles, 
then with promptness, and at last with joy. 
It continues until it no longer feels any 
interior resistance, till it desires nothing and 
fears nothing, and cherishes a holy indiffer- 
ence to every thing, provided only that the 
good pleasure of God may be accomplished. 
This is the highest degree of conformity. 
The will is not only united to God's will, but 
is one and the same with his will. Behold 
the Hmit of interior mortification, which is 
also that of devotion. If it tends not to this, 
it is either not devotion, or a very imperfect 
kind of devotion. Let us be humble ; let us 
be confounded. Perhaps w^e fancy ourselves 
devoted, while as yet we have no true idea of 
devotion. ''Those who are Christ'' s,^'* says 
St. Paul, '' have cj-iicified the flesh!''' They 
have bound it to the cross, after the example 



Mortification of the WilL- 107 

of their Master. Is our flesh crucified hke 
that of Jesus Christ, — I do not mean in his 
passion, but in his earthly Hfe ? " Those 
who belong to hijn,'' says the same apostle, 
" live not for themselves, but for Jmn who 
died, a?id rose again for thetnT Are we 
among them? xA.re we striving to become 
one of them ? Is Jesus Christ our Hfe ? Is 
his will our will ? Do we conceive what it is 
to live, not for ourselves, and only for Christ ? 
St. Ignatius, on going to his martyrdom, said, 
"I am just beginning to be a disciple of 
Christ." The love of his Master consumed 
him; he was inflamed with the desire of 
being crushed by the wild beasts; yet he 
dared not say, I am a disciple of Christ; 
only, I am beginning to be one. I am now 
only in the first stage ; and what he said, he 
sincerely beheved. But we think we do 
enough when we do no more than we are 
obliged to do for Christ : we fancy we are 



io8 Chai^acteristics of True Devotion, 

touching perfection. Again I repeat, let us 
humiliate ourselves. The saints had a very 
different idea of devotion from that which 
we have. They did not consider them- 
selves devoted. The word was repugnant to 
their humility. They endeavored to become 
so, they said : they were serving an appren- 
ticeship, and this at the end of their career. 




Various Qualities of Devotion, 109 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

Uarious dualities of iBebotton* 

pEVOTION is uniform and invariable. 
It is a permanent adhesion of the 
heart to God, independent of all the vicissi- 
tudes of the spiritual life. It is always the 
same, when the soul receives no consolation 
in the exercises of piety as when it does, in 
sorrow as in joy, in the storm of temptation 
as in the calm of peace, in the abandonment 
of God as well as in the grace of the most in- 
timate union with him. In whatever manner 
God may treat me, says the devoted soul, he 
is always the same, and must always faith- 
fully be served. My devotion must never 
swerve, because he is its object and is immu- 
table. It is simple, and has only one inten- 



no Characteristics of^ True Devotion, 

tion. God only is its device. It studies to 
purify its motives, striving above all to regard 
only God and his will. It has no double 
thought for God and self also; but it sees 
itself in God, and in his good pleasure, which 
.is all in all to it. It is fervent, always re- 
solved to do and to suffer what God wills, 
whatever it may cost. Fervor of spirit is not 
those transports which produce in the soul a 
sensible joy. This is delusive : it leads one 
to think himself capable of every thing, and 
to ask God to put him to the 'test. But this 
sensible effect of grace has no sooner ceased, 
than he changes his idea and his language, 
and realizes all his weakness. True fervor 
dwells in the depth of the will, and it en- 
dures amid all weariness and sloth and dul- 
ness : still it maintains the same ardor, the 
same courage, the same activity. It is faith- 
ful, carrying attention and precision to an 
extreme dehcacy, yet without scruple or anx- 



Various Qualities of Devotion, iii 

iety. It is faithful in the least as well as in 
the greatest ; faithful in that which is of per- 
fection, as in that which is of obligation ; 
faithful to the slightest indication as to the 
most direct command. The principle from 
which it never swerves is, that nothing is 
small in the service of so great a master, 
whose will alone gives things their value ; 
and that we cannot manifest our love better 
than by anticipating his wishes, without wait- 
ing for a precise order. It is wise ; always 
attentive to the leadings of the Holy Spirit ; 
it is neither inconsiderate, nor indiscreet, nor 
excessive ; the friend of order ; doing every 
thing at a proper time, knowing when to be 
firm, and when to condescend to the weak- 
ness of others ; exact in all its duties, or re- 
laxing its regularity for a moment in favor of 
charity. It listens not to imagination, which 
is the peril of many pious people ; which 
troubles and disconcerts, and forges for them 



1 1 2 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

a thousand vain phantoms; induces them 
constantly to undertake a thing, and then to 
abandon it; and subjects them to many 
whims and caprices, to much lightness and 
inconstancy. It makes it a chief point to 
despise and overcome this : thereby it ac- 
quires a great peace ; an equanimity of tem- 
per that is never disturbed ; a serenity of 
soul which is reflected externally, and which 
preserves a happy countenance, even in the 
most tr}'ing situations. 



Other Qualities of Devotion, 113 

CHAPTER XXV. 

^i\^tx dualities of IBebotion. 

pEVOTION is docile : it is not attached 
to its own ideas, and readily submits 
tiiem to those who have authority over it ; 
sacrificing to them even what they regard as 
a conviction and a persuasion ; obeying them, 
though they feel the greatest repugnance ; 
continuing no practice against their will, and 
changing nothing in their ordinary course 
of Hfe without consulting them. It never 
judges itself, either adversely, lest it be dis- 
couraged, or favorably, lest it be presumptu- 
ous. It is equally on its guard against a false 
humility, which is never contented with its 
progress, and finds fault with all its actions ; 
and against a false confidence, which ap- 



114 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

proves of all it does, and easily presumes 
upon its own progress. It considers it more 
humble and more safe not to think about 
itself, nor to pronounce upon its own condi- 
tion, but to submit to the judgment of those 
who have charge of its conduct, and to rely 
upon them with the same siraphcity, whether 
they approve, or whether they condemn. 
True devotion is severe upon itself, but indul- 
gent for others ; accommodating itself to 
their weakness with prudence ; taking upon 
itself whatever is most painful and diffi- 
cult, and always carrying a greater burden 
than that which it imposes. It is active 
without haste, dehberate without slowness, 
grave without affectation, cheerful without 
levity. It is not finical, or scrupulous, or 
anxious, or stoical, or remiss, but holds a 
just mean, and inclines rather to the side 
of gentleness than of too exact a justice. 
Though zealous for good, and always ready 



Other Qualities of Devotion. 115 

to undertake the good works for which Provi- 
dence furnishes the occasion, it does not 
anticipate them : it waits. It does not pro- 
pose, nor intermeddle, nor intrigue. It does 
not desire to be mixed up with every thing, 
and to take part in every thing, as if nothing 
could succeed unless it directs, and assumes 
the charge. It has nothing to do with the 
affairs of others ; it does not inquire about 
them, nor look curiously upon them, nor pass 
judgment upon them : it enters into them 
only with the most careful consideration, 
when charity requires it ; and then it takes 
the most active interest in their success, spar- 
ing neither trouble nor means nor credit, 
yet ready at any moment to withdraw, and 
preferring that this kind of work should pass 
into other hands than its own. Its zeal con- 
sists not in declaiming incessantly against 
abuses, even the most real. It complains to 
God, and implores him to put things in 



ii6 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

order; it endures them, when not charged 
with correcting them ; and, when it labors, it 
is with as much sweetness and patience as 
efficiency. It is too much occupied with its 
own defects, to stop and observe those of 
others : it either sees them not, or excuses 
them ; or, if it cannot excuse them, it is 
silent, unless it speaks from a motive of 
charity, and for the good of the person inter- 
ested. It is a declared enemy of what are 
called coteries^ parties, cabals, and secret 
associations. It is not that it does not 
choose persons with whom it may unite in 
holy intercourse, and explain confidentially 
the things of God \ but these unions are the 
work of grace ; they are not affected nor 
mysterious ; there is nothing in them to mark 
a contempt of others, as if they were unwor- 
thy of being admitted to their society. Still 
less does it form a faction to give popularity 
to a certain preacher or pastor, raising one 



Other Qualities of Devotion, 117 

at the expense of another. This party spirit 
characterizes false devotion, and is the enemy 
of true devotion. 



ii8 Characteristics of Ir^ie Devotion, 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
IBcbotian corrects anti perfects tfje Cfjaractcr. 



ROM what has been said, we see that 
one of the great objects of devotion 
is, to reform the character. It is this to which 
it first apphes us ; opening our eyes to the 
faults to which we are generally blind, awak- 
ening the desire to subdue them, the courage 
to attack them, and the hope of triumphing 
over them by the help of grace. Nobody 
ignores the fact, that his character is not so 
perfect as to be subject to no fault, and that 
the best natural quahties are akin to some 
vice. Sweetness degenerates into weakness, 
and gentle complaisance into indolence. 
Firmness exposes us to sternness, harshness, 
and obstinacy. The circumspect soul is 



Devotion corrects the Character, 119 

often cowardly, distrustful, and suspicious : 
the resolute soul, on the contrary, is enter- 
prising, presumptuous, and rash. It is the 
same with other qualities, which are seldom 
pure, but which are mingled good and evil. 
Reason alone could never make a complete 
separation. It is not subde enough to dis- 
cern the delicate shades which distinguish 
the good and the evil quahties ; not just 
enough to seize the mean between two ex- 
tremes, or not sufficiently mistress of itself 
to abide by it constantly \ still less is it able 
to reconcile and harmonize two good qual- 
ities, which appear to be opposed to each 
other. This can be only the work of grace, 
whose light is infinitely more penetrating and 
more certain, and which, in enlightening 
the mind, animates and sustains the will in 
the great work of self-reformation with which 
it is exercised. When I speak of reforming 
the natural character, it must not be supposed 



I20 Characteristics of Ti^ue Devotion, 

that this means changing it to a different one. 
The foundation of every character is good ; 
and the work of grace is not to change the 
foundation, but to eradicate the evil which 
self-love has added to it ; to perfect whatever 
it has of good, and to operate so that every 
moral quality may lose whatever it has in 
excess, and may acquire whatever is wanting : 
thus there is a mutual adjustment, which 
results finally in perfect virtue. Moreover, 
devotion supernaturalizes the moral qualities, 
and communicates to them a divine afflatus, 
which ennobles and sanctifies them. It must 
be remembered, however, that the labor of 
man, however aided by grace, never carries 
on this work to the highest perfection : and 
in the hohest saints there still remains some 
fault or some excess which belongs to the 
original character ; as may be observed in the 
writings of a St. Cyprian, a St. Jerome, and 
many others. But when God undertakes the 



Devotion corrects the Character, 121 

work by himself, with this intention, he takes 
possession of the soul, and puts it in the 
interior way. If this soul is faithful, habitual 
recollection, prayer, and trials radically purify 
it ; and the character passes through the 
crucible, which leaves in it less and less alloy. 
This soul becomes Hke wax, moulded in the 
hands of a master workman, who manipulates 
it, and fashions it according to his will, and 
makes alterations as profound as they are 
deHcate. In these characters what beautiful 
symmetry and harmony appear. Such were 
St. Augustine, and St. Francis de Sales. 
What sweet devotion was theirs ! What 
charity ! What uniformity 1 What admirable 
equanimity of soul in their hfe and conversa- 
tion, as well as in their works ! 



122 Characteristics of True Devotion, 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

I3ci)Oti0n, tnstcati of rcijrcssing tJje .Spirit, serbes 
ratljrr to ticbclop it. 



EVOTION has been reproached as re- 
pressing the spirit, but those who make 
tins reproach know nothing of it. They 
look at the Httleness and the petty scrupu- 
lousness of certain devoted people, and throw 
back upon devotion the faults of those who 
conceive it wrongly and practise it badly. 
Take whatever man or woman you may, who 
regards and practises devotion as I have 
defined and explained it, and see if it has 
repressed their spirit. But what need of such 
examples? Are much reflection and reason- 
ing necessary to convince one that devotion 
is the only source from which to draw all 



Devotion develops the Spirit. 123 

true, grand, and right ideas of the things that 
are most interesting to man ; which, to the 
knowledge furnished by pure and healthy 
reason, adds the clearer, the more certain, 
and the more sublime, light of revelation? 
There is nothing great but God, and God is 
truth. All truth emanates from God, love 
and life emanate from God, and tend towards 
and terminate in him. How, then, can a 
spirit be repressed in that which most con- 
cerns it, which relates to its duties, whose law 
is to consult God, to conform its ideas and 
judgments to the ideas and judgments of 
God? Is not God the Father of Hght? Is 
not the eternal Word '^ The true Light, which 
lighteth every man that cometh into the 
world " ? Yet one fancies that a spirit which 
takes this Light for its rule and guide will 
become narrow and small ! Is there an 
absurdity or contradiction equal to this? 
True devotion teaches us that which is to our 



124 Cha7'acteristics of True Devotion. 

advantage, and which concerns our duties. 
There is no need that it should go farther. 
It is proportioned to the capacity of the 
simple and the ignorant, and it gives them 
all that is sufficient to lead them aright. 
The truly devoted, however great his natural 
gifts, and however highly educated he may 
be, always has more reason, more good 
sense, more penetration and justice, than he 
would otherwise have. This is unquestion- 
able, and I will say no more about it. But 
if a man of great genius, cultivated by a 
fine education, gives himself up to a hfe of 
devotion ; if in his meditations and studies 
he preserves a serenity of spirit, disengaged 
from all prejudices and passions, seeking 
truth only, and seeking it only in God, — 
I insist that he will penetrate its mysteries 
far beyond what the limits of his understand- 
ing would allow, that he will judge the most 
difficult and the most deHcate things as 



Devotion develops the Spirit. 125 

certainly as can possibly be expected of a 
reason which is not infallible, and that his 
talents will attain to the highest development 
of which they are< susceptible. - St. Augustine 
was truly devoted. He understood religion, 
and practised it thoroughly. Was his a narrow 
mind? Indeed, do we know of any one 
who had more breadth, more elevation, more 
profoundness? Would he have had views 
so grand, so just, so penetrating, if he had 
confined himself to the study of eloquence 
and profane philosophy? Consider what he 
has himself told us in his "Confessions." 
Until he was thirty years old he was engrossed 
in all kinds of science, and sought truth with 
an indefatigable zeal everywhere except in 
religion. Did he find it? Did his restless 
spirit find repose? Did he search it and 
develop it as he did afterwards, when, having 
given himself entirely to God, he knew no 
other book than the Holy Scriptures, and, 



126 Characteristics of Time Devotion, 

that he might understand them better, he 
implored divine .help by constant prayer? 
St. John Chrysostom was devoted. Did his 
devotion do any injury to his great genius, 
his remarkable gift of eloquence? Did it 
not rather add to his nobleness of thought, 
his sound judgment, that profound philosophy, 
which we admire in his discourses, and for 
which he certainly was not indebted to the 
teaching of Libanius his master? Would he 
have become what he was if he had attached 
himself to that sophist, who destined him to be 
his successor, if, as he complained, the Chris- 
tians had not carried him away? Compare 
the writings of each, and then decide. I 
could say the same of all the Fathers of the 
Church, who owe it to devotion, that they 
became the greatest spirits and the lights of 
their age. Devotion, then, does not repress 
the spirit ; but, on the contrary, it gives to it 
all the breadth, all the solidity, all the sagacity, 



Devotion develops the Spirit. 127 

of which it is capable. This will be perfectly 
obvious if we consider the nature of the 
objects proper to devotion, the light under 
which it presents other objects, the rules it 
gives by which to judge them, the means it 
employs, and the obstacles it removes. I 
except frivolous pursuits, and the knowledge 
of mere amusement, which it teaches us to 
despise, or, at least, to which it will not permit 
us to give much attention. Besides this, is 
there a single science, truly worthy of man, 
to which devotion, as I have defined it, may 
not be useful, or even necessary, in penetrat- 
ing its true principles, and in tracing and 
developing its consequences? I leave this to 
the consideration of my readers. Let them 
explore philosophy and all its branches, logic, 
physics, metaphysics, morals, political and 
social economy, politics and jurisprudence, 
and then tell me if there is one of them that 
we can maintain and treat profoundly without 



128 Characteristics of Ti^ue Devotion. 

the science of religion for its base. History, 
what is it but an object of curiosity, a simple 
exercise of memory, if you detach it-from 
Providence, which prepares events from the 
beginning, and permits and designs them for 
worthy ends? What other mind than that 
enlightened by a deep devotion would be 
able to unfold history, and show the intimate 
relation it has always had, and will always 
continue to have, with religion ? If the great 
Bossuet had not been able to consider it in 
this way, would his " Discourse upon Universal 
History " be as sublime, as eloquent, as in- 
structive, as it is. Would it be an intellectual 
masterpiece as well for its plan as for its 
execution? If one calls the truly devoted 
man a mean spirit, because he loves God 
and fears to offend him ; because he respects 
the Church, its ministers, its commands, its 
decisions ; because he is scrupulous and 
delicate in the management of his affairs, and 



Devotion develops the Spirit, 129 

the means of making a fortmie ; because he 
cultivates piety, virtue, and honesty, — I have 
nothing more to say. I cannot prevent those 
who have a personal interest for doing so 
from calling black white, and white black. 



T30 Characteristics of True Devotion, 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

IBcbotion elebatrs tf}c l^cart of fHan abobc ([Bbcrg 
^Jjing bjfjicf) is not of 6oti. 

iiHE same devotion which enlarges and 
purifies the mind enriches the heart 
and elevates the affections. This statement 
requires no more proof than the preceding 
one. That which represses and debases the 
heart is self-love, passion, and the esteem 
and love of earthly things. Seek no other 
cause of hardness, meanness, injustice, and 
cruelty, than the egotism by which one wishes 
every thing for himself, traces every thing to 
himself, and endeavors to concentrate every 
thing within himself. You cannot mention 
one single vice, nor one single defect, that 
does not spring from this root. At what 



Devotion elevates the Heart, 131 

does devotion aim, and what is its motive? 
To attack self-love at its foundation, and pur- 
sue it to its entire extinction ; substituting in 
its place the love of God, of one's neighbor, 
and the legitimate love of self; thereby to 
re-establish the heart in its primitive recti- 
tude, to restore order to its affections, to 
allow in it no sentiment which comes not 
from God, and which tends not toward God ; 
to communicate to the individual largeness, 
which, drawing him out from himself, extends 
his benevolence to all men ; to interest him, 
by views superior to those of humanity, in 
the happiness and the unhappiness of his 
race ; to lead him to solace their miseries, 
and to promote their interests as if they were 
his own ; to inspire him with a noble disin- 
terestedness, a modest and compassionate 
generosity, unknown to that fastidious benefi- 
cence which is always preceded, accompanied, 
and followed by itself, — in short, to develop 



132 CharacteiHstics of True Devotion, 

all the capacity he has received from his Crea- 
tor, and which can only be filled by the divine 
immensity. What further aim has devotion? 
To turn the human passions, which wrangle, 
which envy, which contend together for frivo- 
lous and miserable pleasures, to their true 
objects, which alone can satisfy them, and 
which all may possess in common ; to teach 
them neither to love, nor hate, nor desire, 
nor fear any thing except what God and 
right reason require that man should love, 
hate, fear, and desire ; an immediate aim and 
a motive, which, faithfully practised, will banish 
from the world every species of crime, and will 
dry up its source in the human heart. What 
is indeed its final aim? To inspire us with 
disgust and contempt for the things of this 
world ; to show us their true design, which is 
to provide for the passing needs of this mor- 
tal life ; to convince us that they are made 
for us, but only for the smallest part of us, 



Devotion elevates the Heart, 133 

and that our souls are not made for them ; to 
present to the soul the substantial, eternal, 
immutable things worthy of its nature, and 
proportioned to its desire ; to give to it a 
taste for these things, to inspire it with an 
ardent desire for their possession, and to 
teach it the means by which to attain them. 
What grandeur, what nobleness, what eleva- 
tion of thought, there is in him whose devotion 
to God is penetrated with these truths ! and 
this is the same, whatever may be his state 
and condition in this world ; for, in this re- 
spect, devotion renders all conditions equal : 
and the peasant in his hut is greater than the 
monarch in his palace if he has the greater 
piety. Honors and dignities do not elate 
him, obscurity and dependence do not de- 
grade him. He is neither insolent in pros- 
perity, nor despondent in adversity, nor proud 
and contemptuous like the philosopher in me- 
diocrity. If, in his position, he is above other 



134 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

men, he regards them as equals, to whom 
he owes health and protection. He considers 
himself below all who serve God better than 
he does ; and, because there is not one who 
is not or can not be greater than he before 
God, he puts himself in the lowest place in 
his heart. If he is in an obscure condition, 
instead of envying those who are raised above 
him, he congratulates them, and thanks God. 
We have seen this in our day ; and this gran- 
deur of soul, for those who can appreciate it, 
is not one of the least triumphs of devotion. 
If he has masters, it is God whom he respects, 
loves, and obeys in them ; and their service 
has nothing debasing in his eyes. In a word, 
he who has a really great heart, which is above 
all created things, and acknowledges no supe- 
rior but God, is truly devoted. 



God's Will the only Rule. 135 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

^rue ©ebation rcgarlrs ^berg ^fjing iw. delation 
to (JBternitg anU to tfje OTill of 6olJ. 

I^^IT seems as if there could be nothing 
Bol niore wanting to this portrait of devo- 
tion, and it immeasurably surpasses the idea 
of it with which we began. Still, there are a 
few more features to be added. The truly 
devoted is one who belongs not to time. 
From the moment that he consecrates him- 
self to God, he is transported into the region 
of eternity ; he thinks only of eternity, not 
with fear, but with joy, as his destination ; he 
regards every thing in the light of eternity ; 
he utters to himself incessantly these words 
of a saint : *^ What has this to do with eter- 
nity? Of what importance to me is all this 



136 Characteristics of True Devotion. 

which is passing? I am in the world only as 
in a place of probation. I am here just to 
serve an apprenticeship in that which I am 
to do eternally. I am destined to love God, 
and to be happy forever in the possession of 
him. This is the end of my being. The few 
and the uncertain number of the days allotted 
me on earth are granted me in order that I 
may love God by choice, and may be entitled 
to the eternal reward as the merit of loving 
him. Every thing here below must be for 
me an exercise of love. But love aspires 
only to give, to sacrifice, to suffer for that 
which it loves ; to immolate itself at its own 
good pleasure. This is all I have to do : 
this is the employment of every moment of 
my life. He whom I love merits every thing, 
and expects every thing, from me. He has 
loved me with an eternal love, with a love 
gratuitous and disinterested, with a love to 
which mine, whatever may be its excess, can 



God's Will the Only Rule. 137 

never approach. For the reward of his love 
he demands mine; and though he should 
not have prepossessed me, though he should 
promise me nothing, I should still have a 
thousand reasons for loving him." The will 
of God is the only rule for the truly devoted. 
In all that happens to him, he sees only that ; 
he attaches himself only to that ; he blesses 
that for every thing, always contented provided 
that is accomplished. He is confidently per- 
suaded that God wills nothing and permits 
nothing that will not turn to the advantage 
of those who love him. Every thing which 
comes from his hand — and every thing except 
sin comes from him — is a benefit to him ; and 
crosses more than all the rest, because of the 
resemblance they give to Jesus Christ, the 
chief and the model of souls devoted to God. 
Every thing serves to unite him more and 
more to him whom he loves : obstacles are 
transformed to means. Nothing arrests him ; 



138 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

he surmounts every thing ; he compels every 
thing ; he removes every thing which would 
prevent him from joining himself immediately 
to him, mind to mind, heart to heart. Divine 
union is the end of all his actions, the centre 
of all his desires. And every thing he loves, he 
loves only in God and for God. Let no one 
think, as many falsely imagine, that, on account 
of this, his heart is indifferent and insensible ; 
for no one is more affectionate, more tender, 
more compassionate, more generous, more 
grateful, than he who is truly devoted. His 
love for his neighbor is modelled after the 
infinite love of God, and is only an extension 
of that he feels for him. Love for his neigh- 
bor is a substantial love, a delicate love, an 
exceeding love, which nothing can weaken, 
which is rather increased by that which would 
seem as if it ought to extinguish it, — that 
which does not prevent in a very just sense 
that God should be every thing to him, and 



God's Will the Only Rule, 139 

all the rest as it were nothing ; because God 
is his only good, and the Hmit of his affections, 
which pass by creatures, only to fasten them- 
selves on him. 



I40 Characteristics of True Devotion, 



CHAPTER XXX. 

Contruct of tfje ^Tnilu Bebotcti bitf) HcgarU to 
Ijis Nci'sPor. 

ET us look more particularly at the 
conduct which devotion inspires to- 
wards one's neighbor; because this is the 
point upon which it is most unjustly at- 
tacked, and it is necessary to defend it from 
the malignity of its accusers. I assert, then, 
that, in regard to one's neighbor, devotion 
has all the characteristics which St. Paul 
attributes to charity : indeed, it is nothing else 
but the exercise of the purest charity. 

Follow me now in the development of these 
characteristics, apply them to the devoted 
whom you know, and render justice to those 
in whom they shine, notwithstanding the 



Conduct of the Truly Devoted, 141 

shadows mingled there from human weak- 
ness. Thus the truly devoted is patient : he 
suffereth all things, he endureth all things, 
from his neighbor. This forbearance is one 
of the most important things in the inter- 
course of life, and that in which one is most 
exercised ; because it is continual, and con- 
tributes more than any thing else to the 
maintenance of domestic peace. It is in the 
interior of families, and in relation to those 
with whom we live habitually, that we have 
the most need of it ; husband and wife with 
regard to each other ; a master with regard 
to his servants ; parents with regard to their 
children ; and, in general, those who live to- 
gether, or who are in close connection, — all 
are in circumstances which try their dispo- 
sitions ; and they show themselves just as 
they are, yielding to temper and a thousand 
httle natural defects. Doubtless it is easier 
to preserve patience on great occasions, when 



142 Characteristics of True Drcotion. 

religious motives sustain us, and when the 
fear of offending God puts us upon our 
guard, than not to forget one's self, and to 
manifest nothing, either in word or manner, 
in the many light encounters which are con- 
stantly recurring, against which we have not 
taken careful precaution, and in which our 
faults do not necessarily appear. The want 
of forbearance sometimes has sad conse- 
quences. Imagination is kindled, and mag- 
nifies some litde thing into a great defect; 
anger is roused, simple repugnance passes 
into aversion; we can neither look at nor 
tolerate each other ; we disagree about every 
thing ; unkind words proceed to a declared 
enmity. In the beginning the thing was 
nothing : in the end the evil becomes extreme 
and incurable. It is just here that the 
practice of devotion is of great importance, 
teaching us to bear the infirmities of others 
as we wish that they should bear with ours. 



Co7iduct of the Truly Devoted. 143 

The dev^oted, like charity, is full of kindness, 
always inclined to oblige. His wealth, his 
time, his talents, his credit, are less to him 
than to others. At whatever moment they 
take him, whatever service they demand of 
him, if it be in his power he is disposed to 
render it : he leaves every thing, he sacrifices 
even his devotions, when the interest of his 
neighbor requires it. He knows nothing of 
those vain offers, those excuses and evasions, 
so customary in the world, where, provided it 
costs nothing, one makes a show of good will, 
and seeks to impose upon others by the ap- 
pearance of it. His offers are sincere : he is 
a slave to his promises ; and, when he does 
excuse himself, it is in such a way as to make 
one feel that it is really painful to him not to 
be able to grant the desired favor. It is of 
him alone that we can say, he '*' envieth not : " 
he sees the prosperity of another with as 
much or even more pleasure than his own. 



144 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

He envies neither the talents nor the success 
of others, neither the applause nor the re- 
wards they receive. How should he envy 
them that for which he has no desire ? But 
he is the first to recognize their merit, to 
praise it, to show it forth, to establish it. He 
is not even jealous of their virtue, their 
sanctity, or the graces God has given them ; 
though these are the only things to which he 
aspires : and, whatever desire he may have to 
love God, he is willing that others should 
exceed him in love. How rare it is to be 
entirely exempt from this sentiment, so low, 
yet so natural to man, from which devotion 
alone can set him free ! He says nothing, 
he does nothing, matap?'opos. " Charity 
doth not behave it unseemly," — lightly, 
inconsiderately, which is so important, and 
the opposite of which has such serious con- 
sequences in society. On this point, devotion 
is far superior to politeness, which regards 



Conduct of the Truly Devoted. 145 

only the outside ; for it extends this rule to 
the judgment, and the affections, from which 
external demonstrations proceed, of which 
we do not always have control unless we 
observe what passes within. " Charity vaunt- 
eth not itself." Instead of boasting of the 
temporal or spiritual advantages he has over 
others, the truly devoted pays no attention to 
them ; or, if he thinks of them at all, it is 
only to find in them cause for humihation : 
while, on the contrary, he who deludes him- 
self with the idea that he is devoted, is ever 
secretly drawing a comparison of himself with 
others, giving himself the preference, and con- 
gratulating himself, like the Pharisee (Luke 
xviii. 11), that he is not as other men. But 
the devoted seeks only self-forgetfulness ; and 
his judgment of himself tends to self-abase- 
ment, which is his own deep conviction. 
'' Charity is not puffed up." Nobody is farther 
removed from ambition than is the devoted. 



146 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

As others are flattered by distinctions and 
preferments, he has rather an aversion to 
them. He thinks so Uttle of elevating himself 
above others, of being placed over them to 
command them, that, on the contrary, he 
prefers to be abased, to choose the lowest 
places, — prefers only to obey. He is still 
more exempt from spiritual ambition ; know- 
ing that it is more dangerous, and more 
odious to God and man. " Charity seeketh 
not her own." So the truly devoted is always 
ready to sacrifice his own interests for the 
sake of peace, and to preserve charity. His 
great, his only interest is to live well with 
man in the sight of God. He has nothing 
to do with excitement, with angry words, 
or with an obstinate temper. Sweetness 
marks all his conversation, and rules in all his 
actions. He would rather yield, even when 
he is right, than maintain his opinion with 
any bitterness. Nothing wounds him, noth- 



Conduct of the Truly Devoted, 147 

ing offends him, nothing irritates him. One 
might fancy that he was insensible, and that 
he perceived nothing ; yet he has the most 
deHcate feeling, and nothing wrong escapes 
him. '' Charity thinketh no evil." While 
he who falsely persuades himself that he is 
devoted, is scandalized at every thing, and 
gives a bad turn to every thing, the truly 
devoted interprets every thing favorably, put- 
ting his whole mind to see and present things 
on the good side ; to diminish positive 
wrongs, and to justify the intention, when the 
action cannot be excused. As he has no 
malice himself, he suspects none in others ; 
and he will not believe evil until forced to 
do so by unquestionable evidence. 



148 Characteristics of T7'ue Devotion. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

^fjc IBiffcrencB between tfje ^Politeness of tJje 
OTorltJ anti tijc Cortiialitg of ^rue IBeijO:= 
tion. 

iJHE politeness of the world is only dis- 
simulation. It manifests esteem and 
friendship, the better to conceal its coldness 
or its contempt. The truly devoted loves 
"without dissimulation" (Rom. xii. 9). He 
shows in his face what he has in his soul : his 
lips express only what he feels. His char- 
acteristic is cordiality, a virtue most precious, 
which the world has banished from its inter- 
course, though it preserves its semblance. 
He does not expect that any one should let 
him be first ; but he gives others precedence 
to do them honor, according to the words of 



Devotion o-nd the Politeness of the World, 149 

St. Paul, ^- in honor preferring one another." 
He forgets the respect which is due him, and 
thinks only of that which charity dictates that 
he should have towards his neighbor. It is 
not that he cannot maintain his dignity when 
necessary, and presence the rights of his rank : 
but he never asserts them with haughtiness or 
pretension, or excessive delicacy ; and, on this 
account, one is less inclined to dispute his 
merits. Politeness gives only to receive. It 
makes advances at one time in order that 
they may be returned at another time. It 
measures, it considers, its own civilities ; and 
it demands at least as much attention as it 
pays ; always fearing that one may not appre- 
ciate, or not sufficiently reahze, the value of 
what it does. It is not thus with devotion. 
Without derogating aught from that wliich 
belongs to place and condition, it can be affa- 
ble, gracious, obliging : it humanizes, becomes 
familiar with, remembers, and puts itself on 



150 Characteristics of True Devotion. 

3. level with, those with whom it converses. 
Its demonstrations are frank, natural, disinter- 
ested, without any thought of return. Human 
compassion often has nothing but words, or, 
at most, barren sentiments. It is partial, 
inconstant, moves quickly at first, and is soon 
exhausted. Sometimes the evils it beholds, 
by their very excess inspire it with horror 
rather than pity ; and, if it relieves them at 
all, it is with indignation of heart, and averted 
look. Too frequently the humanity on which 
it prides itself is affected. It acts with osten- 
tation ; does good only for applause ; and, in 
bringing to light the secret misery of another, 
causes him to repent that he had trusted to 
it. Devotion does not fall into any such 
errors. Its commiseration extends to all the 
unfortunate : it sympathizes heartily with their 
misfortunes, and ministers to their necessities 
as if they were its own. It relieves them 
effectually, drawing, not merely from its su- 



Devotion and the Politeness of the World, 151 

perfluities, but from its necessities. No kind 
of misery repels it, and the more extreme 
the misery the more eager it is to succor it. 
It accompanies its charities with an air of 
interest, of sensibiHty, of tenderness, which 
touches, which consoles, which gladdens, the 
afflicted. Full of pity for degraded indi- 
gence, it divines it, spares it the shame of 
explaining, often lets it remain ignorant of 
the hand which assists it, and does it so se- 
cretly that nobody suspects it, and never a 
word escapes concerning it. Charity often 
gives to the truly devoted the interior dis- 
position? of his neighbor. The devoted one 
rejoices, according to the counsel of the 
apostle, with those who rejoice, and weeps 
with those who weep. He shares the feelings 
of those who approach him, and is affected 
by all that touches them. This is neither de- 
ceit, nor flattery, nor simple politeness : it is the 
true and profound interest of a brother, who 



152 Characteristics of True Devotion. 

shares the good and the evil of his brothers, 
and regards them as his own. Finally, if we 
consider, on the one hand, what humanity, 
education, and poHteness may do for useful- 
ness, safety, pleasure, and harmony in the 
intercourse of life, and, on the other hand, 
what devotion, well understood and well prac- 
tised, does, and what it might do if it were 
more generally diffused, we shall be com- 
pelled to admit, that it has all the advantage, 
and that there is no comparison between 
them. It is to the truly devoted that the 
commendation of the wise man applies : he 
is beloved of God and of man, because he 
serves God in God, and does to man all the 
good that lies in his power ; and, if he is not 
always beloved by them, it is because they 
are wicked, envious, and ungrateful \ because 
they despise virtue, and do not render him 
justice. 



The Devoted possess all Civil Qualities, 153 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

Cfje truls ©eboteti possess all Cibil dualities. 



|Wgd|F the devoted man is what he ought to 
|ol.BS[ be, he is a good husband, a good father, 
a good master, a good friend, a good citizen, 
a good subject; because the very essentials 
of devotion consist in fulfilling all the duties 
attached to these several spfleres, and to all 
others of like nature. There is no case in 
which it authorizes any one to fail in the 
least obHgation which results from the civil 
or natural relations of society, or in which it 
does not severely condemn those who fail in 
such obhgations. Further, it alone discloses 
all the extent of these duties, obHges us in 
conscience to study them, and makes us take 
interest and pleasure in acquitting ourselves 



154 Characteristics of True Devotion. 

in regard to them, at all times and in all 
circumstances. All things else being equal, 
compare, in every state and every profession, 
the devoted man with him who is not so. 
See which is the more learned, the more 
assiduous, the more honest, the more exact, 
the more delicate, the more disinterested ; 
which is it who succeeds better, of whom 
the public complains the less, and who is 
the more contented. Glance over the high 
places ; examine without partiality by whom 
they have been the better filled, — by the 
friends or the enemies of devotion. One 
may be devoted, and fail in talents ; but he 
will not be wanting in zeal, in honesty, or in 
love for the right. The faults occasioned by 
a want of genius should not be imputed to 
devotion ; since it never inclines us to under- 
take a commission, an employment, a pro- 
fession, for which we are not fitted : and it 
requires us to neglect nothing that may 



The Devoted possess all Civil Qualities. 155 

render us capable of any duties we may be 
called on to perform, and to resign all such 
duties and employments, if public and private 
interests should suffer by our exercise of 
them. Fraud, misdemeanors, injustice, vio- 
lence, abuse of authority, negligence, faults 
in work, and all the results of a culpable 
ignorance, never proceed from devotion. All 
good may be put to its account : all evil is 
foreign to it, and it is unjust to hold it in 
any way responsible for evil. Such is, in full, 
what the truly devoted is in his relations to 
his neighbor and to society. 



156 Characteristics of True Devotion. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

^f|e trulg ©cbotcti fHan possesses tfjc onlg ^riie 
J^appinrss tijat one ean experience on ^artfj. 

|0 far as it regards him personally, de- 
votion blesses the truly devoted with 
the only true happiness to be found on earth ; 
and it has never happened that any devoted 
man has had any cause to repent his being 
such, and it never will happen. One will tell 
me that he hates and despises himself, com- 
bats with himself, and practises self-abnega- 
tion. I grant it; but it is in this he finds 
peace, equanimity, and joy of soul. It is 
fixed by reason and the principles of faith, 
and demonstrated by constant and universal 
experience, that the good of this world, its 
riches, honors, and pleasures, cannot satisfy 



The 07ily True Happiness, 157 

the soul, and only aggravate its hunger with- 
out ever appeasing it ; that the passions are 
the principal source of the misfortunes which 
overwhelm mankind ; and that, for the inev- 
itable evils of this life, no other philosophy 
than that of religion can help us to bear them, 
or teach us their true use. Again, it is fixed 
and demonstrated by experience, that God, 
being man's only good, devotion, which brings 
him back to God, and tends to unite him to 
God, is the true, the only principle of his 
happiness ; that it restrains him from sin, 
which is his sovereign evil ; that it secures 
him from misfortunes, which are the fruits of 
his own passions. With regard to other evils, 
whether natural, or caused by the injustice and 
maHce of man, it teaches him to rise above 
them^ by patience, and to draw from them 
marvellous benefits : with regard to tempta- 
tions, trials, and other spiritual difficulties, 
it persuades him that these are not evils, but 



158 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

real blessings, — remedies which lead him to 
a higher life, occasions of practising virtue, 
means of sanctifying him, and disposing him 
to a divine union. Thus it elevates him above 
all human accidents, above the vicissitudes 
of the spiritual hfe, above himself even, and 
estabHshes him in an unalterable peace. On 
the other hand, God, who is rich in mercy, 
and whose liberahty is never weary, devotes 
himself, if I may venture to speak thus, to 
those who are devoted to him ; he treats 
them as his children ; he guards them as 
''the apple of his eye," — this is his own 
expression (Zech. ii. 8.) He lavishes upon 
them his aid, his consolations, his favors : 
in a word, he appHes himself to convince 
them by the strongest and the most un- 
doubted evidence, that they gain every thing 
by sacrificing every thing to him, and that 
the highest happiness of the creature is found 
only in the loss of himself and of every other 



The only Ti'ue Happiness. 159 

earthly blessing, and in the assurance of the 
possession of the Infinite. Do not accuse 
me here of falsehood or of exaggeration. 
On the contrary, believe that what I say is 
below the reality. You have also the unani- 
mous testimony of the saints : refer to them. 
You have their writings : consult them, and 
see if they say any less than I have said. 
There is not one among them who has not 
asserted that he was happy in the service of 
God, that he had never been happy before, 
and that this is the only means of being so. 
If you say that you have not tasted this hap- 
piness, although you have served him for 
many years, it is because you have not served 
him with the same devotion as the saints ; 
because there has entered into your devotion 
much negligence, much carelessness, much 
reserve ; because you have sought yourself 
instead of seeking God ; and because self- 
love has tyrannized over your soul by fear, 



i6o Characteristics of True Devotion, 

by desire, by vain regrets and idle forebod- 
ings, by murmurs and internal revolts, and 
by resistance to the reign of the love of God 
within you. 




yesus Christ the Great Model, i6i 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

3esus C jurist tijc 6rcat fHoticl of ^perfect 
Dtbotiort. 

|0U ask me for a model of perfect 
devotion. What other can I propose 
than that which has been given us in the 
person of Jesus Christ? Listen to this divine 
Master : study his life. He came into this 
world, only to teach you in what true devotion 
consists. All the lessons of his heavenly 
doctrine are reduced to the one lesson of 
devotion. His whole life was only the most 
absolute devotion, practised in the most excel- 
lent manner. From the moment he entered 
the world, he devoted himself to God as the 
victim to atone for the outrages committed 
against his glory, and to reconcile mankind 



1 62 Characteristics of True Devotion. 

to him. At that moment the great cross he 
was to carry was offered to him : that cross 
embraces all the events of his hfe, and it 
daily became harder and heavier from the 
cradle to his latest breath. It combined to 
an incomprehensible degree every kind of 
suffering and opprobrium which could be 
borne by a soul sustained by all the power of 
the Divinity. It was to exhaust upon him 
the scourge of divine justice : it was to equal 
and surpass all the pains due to the enormous 
and innumerable iniquities of man. His 
soul, infinitely enlightened by divine light, 
measured the extent of this cross ; knew per- 
fecdy all its rigors ; foresaw, and experienced 
beforehand, its unutterable torments. Yet he 
accepted it with all the submission, all the 
love, all the generosity, of which the God- 
man was capable. It was always present to 
his mind : it was always dear to his heart. 
He continually hastened by his desire the 



y^estis Christ the Great Model, 163 

consummation of his sacrifice : and the ex- 
treme vehemence of his desire was, perhaps, 
the greatest of his torments ; for whatever 
might be its excess, his love reached in- 
comparably beyond it, and made him wish to 
suffer still more, if it w^ere possible, for the 
glory of his Father and for our salvation. 
Behold the subHme, the divine model of 
devotion ! See the only perfect and true 
expression of what God merits on our part, 
and of the service we owe him. It is only 
in view of this wonderful devotion that he 
can be satisfied with ours, so feeble, so im- 
perfect, so unworthy of his supreme majesty. 
Our devotion, though it may be carried to 
the highest point that we can conceive, is in 
itself of no value. It is insufficient to ex- 
piate the smallest of our offences, or to merit 
for us the very least degree of glory. There 
has never been but one single devotion accept- 
able to God of itself, — that of Jesus Christ. 



1 64 Characteristics of True Devotion. 

He accepts only that : he regards only that, 
from which ours derives all its value. Look, 
then, at this perfect, this unique model, and 
place first before your mind this great truth, 
that God is so infinitely above us, or, rather, 
that God is so every thing, and we so noth- 
ing, that it is impossible for us, by the highest 
and most generous devotion which we can 
imagine, not only to attain to that which he 
has a right to expect of us, but to do any 
thing to merit his shghtest regard, or to render 
us worthy of any manifestation of his favor. 
Let us, therefore, profoundly humiliate and 
abase ourselves, and pray him to inspire in 
us some act of devotion that he will deign 
to accept, and to help us perform this act 
with all the love which the heart of man can 
possibly conceive, and to support us, by the 
power of his grace, in the faithful and constant 
accomplishment of every sacrifice which it 
may involve. Finally, because we are noth- 



yesus Christ the Great Model, 165 

ing of ourselves, and are perverted by our 
will, and there is nothing good in us which 
is not a gift from God, let us unite our devo- 
tion to that of Jesus Christ, innploring our 
divine Saviour to communicate to it some 
portion of his merits, to present it to his 
Father with his own, and to prevail upon 
him by his own all-powerful mediation to 
accept it. 



1 66 Characte7Hstics of True Devotion. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

W(sm ISffcrtual fHcans to acquire ^rue 
JBcbotion. 



OUBTLESS the essential point is rightly 
to conceive the act of devotion, and 
to form it in the heart with a full and entire 
will : it is to understand the nature and the 
qualities of our engagement with God, and 
heartily to embrace all its obligations. One 
may well say here, that the beginning is half 
the battle. But it is only the half: it must 
be carried to its execution. Perhaps you 
will wish to know by what means. This 
question I will not here answer in full. It 
will be the subject of another work to follow 
after this, under the title of ^' Spiritual Max- 
ims," where I hope to say enough to put 



Three Effectual Means. 167 

beginners on the way ; but I propose here 
three general means which will lead those 
who observe them very far. The first is, 
that one should always have his devotion 
present to his mind, as did Jesus Christ. The 
moment when one devotes himself, whether 
in prayer or at communion, is a moment of 
fervor, and of strong and sensible grace. 
Then is the soul, as it were, taken out of 
itself, and transported to God. But this 
moment passes quickly ; fervor declines ; the 
sensible impression of grace vanishes : the 
soul returns to itself, and to its ordinary con- 
dition. A thousand inevitable cares which 
distract it will make it lose sight of the vows 
it has just taken, unless it is careful to recall 
them often, to renew them, and to render 
the recollection habitual. This recollection 
awakens it, sustains it, animates its languor, 
excites its courage, shames its sloth, and is 
both a curb to check it, and a spear to urge 



1 68 Characte7isfics of True Devotion, 

it forward. The second means is, to conform 
in every thing to the example of Christ ; since 
a person devoted to God, that is to say, no 
longer at his own disposal, should not form 
any opinions . or projects of his own will, 
but leave himself entirely in the hands of 
God ; undertaking nothing, except by the 
inspiration of his grace, — as God never fails 
to make known his will to a soul determined 
to accomplish it ; allowing in himself neither 
the fear nor the desire of other objects than 
those which belong to his devotion ; ever 
fearing that which may draw him away from 
it, and ardently desiring to be faithful; re- 
garding himself henceforth as being under 
the special guidance of Providence ; aban- 
doning to Go'd the care of his interior spirit, 
without anxiety, without reflecting too much 
upon his state, without curiously seeking the 
reasons of that which happens ; receiving 
with an equal gratitude that which consoles, 



Three Effectual Means. 169 

and that which afflicts, that which troubles, 
and that which tranquiUizes, that which is 
contrary, and that which is agreeable to us, 
that which humihates, and that which ele- 
vates us ; to believe unhesitatingly that God 
has only our good in view, and that, if we 
hold ourselves attached to his will, the things 
c-]:parently the most adverse will result to 
our advantage. It is not the work of a day, 
but that of a whole life, thus to exercise one's 
self in all events, whether temporal or spir- 
itual. One must be a long time an ap- 
prentice in this science before becoming its 
master ; and one becomes skilful, only after 
repeated failures, by which he is humiliated 
and corrected : but it is indispensable to 
enter at once into this general disposition, 
without which there can be no practice in 
devotion. The third means is, to have one's 
eyes always fixed upon Jesus Christ ; to copy 
him, to express him, in our external and inter- 



1 70 Characteristics of True Devotion. 

nal conduct ; to entreat him to impress his 
own image on our hkeness ; and to hold our- 
selves under his hand as an immovable and 
well-prepared canvas, ready to receive all the 
features of this adorable original. For it is 
Christ himself who works upon our souls, who 
draws thereupon his own portrait, to which 
he adds at last the most delicate colors, and 
the finest touches of his pencil, when we place 
no obstacle in his way. As God has made 
the material w^orld by his Son, so also has he 
made by him the spiritual and the supernat- 
ural world ; and this world becomes such as 
it ought to be, only as it the more nearly 
resembles Christ. The saints of the Old 
Testament have symbolized it ; those of the 
New have no other model : and when all the 
features of the God-man shall have been 
imprinted upon his elect, according to the 
design of the Eternal Father, the universe 
will be finished ; as said St. Paul (Rom. viii. 



Three Effectual Means, 171 

29), "Whom he did foreknow, he also did 
predestinate to be conformed to the image 
of his Son." 



T72 Characteristics of True Devotion.^ 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

3acflccttons upon tfje (5:f)arartcristics of Crue 
Bcbotion. 



F devotion to God by Jesus Christ is the 
first duty of all who bear the Christian 
name, how much greater is it in those whose 
office it is to preach it to others, to teach the 
practice of it, and to give an example of it, 
and especially in those whom God has with- 
drawn from the distinction of the world that 
they may devote themselves more entirely to 
him. Yet, do we find many truly devoted in 
the ecclesiastical and in the religious life? 
With sorrow I confess they are as few as 
the ears of corn that escape the scythe of the 
mower, or the grapes that remain after the vin- 
tage. What, then, is the good soil in which 



Reflections. 173 

this seed shall be sown, and bear fruit ? God 
knows, and it is for this that he has led me to 
write. Those souls will receive, will under- 
stand, and will practise it. As for others, I 
hear them already exclaim, and complain that 
I carry things too far; that I demand too 
much, and there is no means of being as 
devoted as I require. But is it I who wish 
this? Is it not the very nature of the thing? 
Reason as much as you please about devotion, 
modify it, temper it, soften it as much as 
you can, you will never be able to harmonize 
grace and nature, God and the world, the 
love of God and self-love \ and, as far as this 
agreement is impossible, I am right. I have 
required only what is just, indeed only what 
is necessary. Have I exaggerated things? 
In what? In quahfying the meaning of 
devotion ? But I have only given its literal 
meaning. Is it in attaching myself to the 
idea of devotion ? On what other idea, then, 



174 Characteristics of True Devotion, 

could I rest my book? Am I wrong in as- 
serting that the devotion which has God for 
its object must be interior, without reserve, 
without division ; that it must spring from 
love, inspire confidence, and dispose to self- 
surrender, must be humble, mortified, and 
the rest that one remembers? Have I said 
too much ? Have I even said all upon these 
characteristics? Or if by a culpable treat- 
ment I had weakened the truth, would not 
those who accuse me of exaggerating it be 
the first to cry out against my carelessness? 
Would I have said less if I had entitled my 
work. Characteristics of True Love, and so, 
developing the two great precepts of love to 
God and love to one's neighbor, on which 
hang all the law and the prophets, had ap- 
plied to them all that I have attributed to 
devotion? Would I have said less, if speak- 
ing to the disciples of Christ, and addressing 
to them his own words, I had interpreted 



Reflections. 1 75 

his teaching and his doctrine according to 
the idea of the apostles, and the Fathers 
of the Church? or, if, proposing Christ to 
them as a model, I had strongly represented 
the indispensable necessity of imitating his 
interior disposition, both toward God and 
man, and the virtues which shone out through 
all his life from the manger to the cross? 
Would I have said less if I had placed before 
them the example of the first Christians, our 
fathers in the faith, and if I had demanded, 
that, having the same duties and the same 
obhgations, they should hold the same sen- 
timents, the same conduct, the same devo- 
tion? Do not tell me that the circumstances 
are not the same. It would be easy for me to 
prove that the present circumstances are more 
delicate, and more dangerous to salvation. 
In conclusion, I could not say less without 
betraying the cause of God ; and no one can 
do less without injuring the dearest interests 



176 Characteristics of T7nie Devotion. 

of his soul. It is a question concerning the 
glory of God, for which we were created ; 
the eternal happiness to which we are called, 
and also our present happiness. These are 
worth the trouble of being carefully con- 
sidered and wisely decided. 



6i^ 



